Post Mortem

There is an awful lot of residual rancor about the recently concluded Quiksilver Pro. If you believe the gossip, the breakdown is between Quiksilver and the city. And if you believe the media, it's between the residents and the city.
 
Um, is there a common denominator here? Does it start with C?

The dissent need not be water under the bridge. It can serve as a lesson for how we can do this sort of thing bigger and better next time, with clearly defined benefits to the taxpayers.

I believe the success of the entire event was undermined from the start by the appointment of Lenny Remo as the city's chief liaison with Quiksilver. Remo, a professional restaurateur and former City Council member, has served as the city's secretary of labor relations since January. How this qualifies him to negotiate with a global brand highly experienced in large-scale events the world over I cannot begin to imagine. Good intentions aside, Remo was out of his league from the get-go. He didn't stand a chance of realistically envisioning the myriad details, the potential impacts on the city or the ways in which Quiksilver would seek to manipulate logistics to its own advantage. This was no partnership; it was a business contract. And playing David to Quiksilver's Goliath without appropriate ammunition was a naive miscalculation of incredible magnitude.

Rather than relying on local leadership (term used loosely), the city should have retained the services of a qualified special events consultant experienced in big-brand sponsorship to represent our interest. The consultant would have helped us evaluate the opportunity, audit past QS events for purposes of comparison, talk with former host cities, develop a goals statement, itemize desired deliverables, articulate non-negotiables, and facilitate negotiations. The outcome would have been a business plan covering everything from music to BMX demonstrations to liquor sales  -- just some of the items of bickering and dissension. There would have been few if any surprises, as a game plan covering all possible contingencies -- including weather -- would have been in place.

Most important, an experienced consultant would have helped make sure that LB derived more than simple  glory from the event. Increased revenue to local businesses would not have been left to chance, but rather planned for and facilitated through such means as free east-west bus service; an LB visitor card, with embedded coupons to restaurants and retail stores; or other vehicles. In addition, a defined benefit to taxpayers, such as a stipend for repaving our winter/flood-ravaged streets, upgrading the boardwalk or repairing Magnolia Playground, could have been included as a key part of the event design.

There was no need for the last minute waffling about whether and how to proceed following Hurricane Irene, or for the protest march staged by Unsound and other event advocates. A professionally executed, comprehensive event plan would have obviated these completely avoidable circumstances.

A citizens' advisory board would have been another asset to mitigate taxpayer backlash and create buy-in before specific decisions were carved in stone.

There is talk on the street that Quiksilver is now soured on Long Beach and will certainly not return next year. I hope this is not the case. There is still tremendous potential for the 2012 Pro event to be a rousing success both for QS and for LB, if only the proper management steps are taken in advance.

Let LB do the unprecedented: admit to its shortcomings this year, commit to doing better next year, and submit to a new-and-improved management plan to bring home the gold with Quiksilver in 2012.