Arlington Theater seating capacity to grow by 2,800

Jennifer Kho

FAIRGROUNDS -- The Orange County Fair board of directors has decided

to expand the Arlington Theater but limit shows to one per night during

the annual summer fair.

The theater’s temporary lawn seating will be increased to accommodate

9,300 people. It now seats 6,500.

Shows at the theater, which opened in the 1960s, will be reduced from

two per day -- at 7 and 9 p.m. -- during the fair. The single show will

start at 8 p.m.

The decision last week to limit the shows was based on the possibility

of attracting more performers, said Steve Beazley, deputy general manager

of the fair, which will be held July 13 to 29.

“We were kind of running into a wall with acts that would play two

shows,” he said. “The more popular the acts, the bigger the names, the

less [they’re likely to want] to do two shows.

“We’re trying to offer a wide array of acts to appeal to a variety of

tastes, and this is going to open doors. We’ll have a larger menu of acts

available to us, and we’ll be able to get acts that are hotter right now

or that have a new album out.”

Fair officials had chosen a two-show format to accommodatemore people,

but the decision to expand the seating will offset the overall reduction,

Beazley said.

The two shows will be combined into one larger show, which will

continue to be included in the fair’s admission price, he said.

Fairgrounds spokeswoman Ruby Lau said the fair board will consider

adding a reserved seating section to the theater at its next meeting at

10 a.m. Jan. 25 at Memorial Gardens, 88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa.