Commission Approves Admission Charge For SoCal AVP Event

The California Coastal Commission by a 6-5 vote approved a proposal that will “allow the AVP to charge admission for 90% of spectators at the Hermosa Beach Open,” according to Peter Yoon of the L.A. TIMES. The proposal will “generate additional revenue for the financially struggling tour, and help keep the sport on Southern California sands, instead of moving the tournaments to venues that allow admission fees.” It also “contradicts an existing commission policy that forbids charging for the use of public beaches.” Tickets to this year’s event will “almost certainly cost” $10-40 a day. The AVP, which filed for bankruptcy in ’01, has “argued that it cannot sustain its business without charging admission to its events.” The AVP’s other Southern California events this season are in Huntington Beach and Manhattan Beach, but each operates under a Local Coastal Program, which means the AVP “must obtain permission from each of those individual cities in order to charge admission” (L.A. TIMES, 2/16).