Air/Space America Organizers Just Meet Deadline to Save Show

The 1990 Air/Space America show pulled out of a potentially fatal nose dive Wednesday when organizers of the aerial extravaganza narrowly beat a deadline to comply with 12 conditions of the city permit authorizing the May show at Brown Field.

But the event remains plagued by lagging finances, broken contracts and top-level turnover--circumstances that once again have made San Diego City Councilman Bob Filner suspicious that the popular but debt-ridden show may crash and burn before the ride is over.

“The danger is . . . financial,” Filner said Wednesday, as a San Diego City Council committee backed away from a threat to cancel the permit for the show, scheduled for May 4-13. “If they collapse, I don’t want to be left holding the bag. I don’t want to rescue them.”

Councilman Bruce Henderson responded with a strong defense of Air/Space America, urging continued council support as long as the organization meets its obligations.

“We should be making a bet with Air/Space America, not making a bet against them,” Henderson said.

The council’s Public Facilities and Recreation Committee, which Filner heads, threatened two weeks ago to cancel the show because Air/Space America organizers had missed a Jan. 1 deadline for posting a $150,000 surety bond to protect against damage to Brown Field. The city-owned airstrip on Otay Mesa sustained $107,000 in damages from heavy aircraft during the inaugural 1988 air show.

Air/Space America officials notified the city Wednesday morning--the new deadline imposed by the committee--that they had obtained the bond, and Deputy City Manager Coleman Conrad reported that the group “is in substantial compliance” with 12 planning and financial conditions set by the city. The group also has purchased a $10-million insurance policy.

Conrad recommended continued support of the show, noting that the city is protected from financial liability if the show loses money. In 1988, angry Air/Space America creditors sued the city in an unsuccessful effort to recoup some of their money.

“We have put in those things that are required to make sure that the city’s financial position is not going to be impaired,” Conrad said.

About 200,000 people attended the first Air/Space America show in 1988, which featured aerial acrobatics, paratroop jumps, trade booths, rides on the supersonic jet Concorde and tours of the Soviet Union’s AH-124 transport, the world’s biggest aircraft.

But, besides the Brown Field damage, spectators endured crowded conditions and poor traffic management, and the show ran up $2.7 million in debt.

In February, 1989, the council voted to cancel the 1990 show, blaming a loss of confidence in organizers, $100,000 in rent still owed the city and the lack of a promise from Air/Space America officials to keep the biennial event in San Diego.

Less than three months later, after heavy lobbying from founder and former Congressman Bob Wilson, among others, the council reversed itself. In an 8-1 vote, with only Filner dissenting, the council re-authorized the show and donated $300,000 in city hotel tax revenue to promote it.

Under a debt payment schedule established last year, Air/Space America has paid about 11% of the $2.7 million it owes, said Kay Bodkin, the organization’s vice president for corporate affairs. Payments to the city for back rent and damages to Brown Field are not due until June 15.