Centennial Celebration Background

The Planning Process to Date

The Balboa Park 2015 Steering Committee originally formed in March of 2010 as the TMD Steering Committee for the 2015 Balboa Park Centennial Celebration in order to kick-start the planning process. With a $50,000 grant from the San Diego Tourism Marketing District, the original purpose of the committee was to search for, identify and hire an Executive Director who would manage the creation of the 2015 Celebration Host Committee, and beyond that serve as the executive manager of the celebration. The immediate reality was that without a widely accepted, comprehensive vision of the celebration and the tools for its implementation, the hiring of an Executive Director would be premature.

The committee immediately modified its mission and circulated an RFP to contract with an individual to perform preliminary research that would result in the development of key guiding documents for the organization of a Host Committee and the articulation of a framing vision for the 2015 Balboa Park Centennial Celebration. As guiding parameters, the Steering Committee identified the following goals for the to-be-formed Host Committee:

• Host a world-class celebration of the Centennial of the 1915 Panama-California Exposition that enhances and expands the current national and international significance of Balboa Park and its institutions.
• Celebrate the resources in Balboa Park through a comprehensive use of its venues and amenities.
• Manage a broad range of activities whose content and pricing reflect the demographic, economic and cultural diversity of the region, including events that are free to the public.
• Work collaboratively with all parties interested in these goals, and especially with the City’s cultural, historic and civic organizations.
• Host a celebration that is cost-neutral to the City, while directing any financial returns to Balboa Park.

Our contracted consultant reviewed more than a decade of historical documents and conducted a comprehensive study with recommendations as described in the document, “Planning Framework, 2010-2015”.

The stated intent of the document is to provide a logical and integrated path to achieve the mission of the 2015 Centennial Celebration, and to serve as a blueprint for organizing the 2015 event. The study, conducted over the summer of 2010, attempted to amalgamate nearly a decade of ideas, opinions and documents addressing a long-anticipated centennial event in Balboa Park to celebrate the milestone 1915 Exposition - the event that many say put San Diego on the world map.

The final document is based on over 40 individual interviews with Balboa Park stakeholders that “sought to capture aspirations, perceptions, ideas, concerns, challenges, and products, as well as planning, organizational and institutional histories relevant to 2015,” as defined in methodology outlined in the document. San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders and City Council member Todd Gloria were interviewed along with numerous other stakeholders who provided a broad representation of park organizations, institutions and tenants, as well as individuals involved in local government, the tourism industry, local philanthropic organizations, community groups, and local media.

Synthesis of Planning Framework Recommendations

The study recommends several immediate next steps in order to meet the timeline necessary for a 2015 event:

• identifying an Executive Director;
• establishing a Host Committee;
• forming of a separate nonprofit corporation to create the legal structure for the Host Committee and administrative staff
• securing preliminary funding significant enough to begin serious planning;
• negotiating of an operating agreement (Memorandum of Understanding) with the City;

Additional recommendations including several defining concepts/principles:

• The duration of the event should be one year, from December 31, 2014, through December 31, 2015;
• The financing should be 66% contributed (philanthropic, sponsorship) revenue, and 34% earned income;
• The core programming for the event will be the exhibitions organized and presented in the cultural institutions in Balboa Park. The host committee will create Park-wide programming which is ancillary to the core institutional programming;
• The geographic focus of the event(s) will be Balboa Park with selected other regional venues;
• The development and implementation of a comprehensive circulation, parking, bicycle/pedestrian access plan is essential;
• The visitor experience must be “awesome.”

Through the cooperative, matching efforts of the Tourism Marketing District, a loose consortium of local philanthropic foundations, and TOT revenue set aside for this purpose in the City of San Diego’s Major Events Revolving Fund, a start-up budget of $1 million has been conditionally funded for the proposed Host Committee.

In February 2011, Mayor Jerry Sanders, City Council Member Todd Gloria and County Supervisor Pam Slater-Price invited well-known civic leaders Nikki and Ben Clay to serve as volunteer Co-chairs of the proposed Host Committee. They will assume that leadership role in April 2011.

2015 Steering Committee Timeline:

• Years and years of discussions and planning.
• January 2009 – Meetings with the Mayor and Balboa Park stakeholders to discuss formation of a Host Committee.
• July 17, 2009 – SDTMD approved $50,000 for initial funds that would be later dedicated to contract with a consultant to develop the planning framework and preliminary draft MOU.
• February 2010 – McDowell, Ellsworth, Stewart discuss formation of Search Committee.
• April 2010 – SDTMD BP 2015 Centennial Consultant Search Committee established:
  • Gerry Braun                                               
  • Lorin Stewart
  • Peter Ellsworth                                               
  • Mike Mc Dowell
  • Bob Kelly                                               
  • Steven Hill
  • Carol Chang                                               
  • Carolyn Wormser
  • Minnie Rzeslawski                                   
  • Victoria Hamilton
• May 2010 – SDTMD BP 2015 Centennial Consultant RFP Published with 3.24.10 deadline.
• June 2010– SDTMD BP 2015 Centennial Consultant Search Committee interviews six responding candidates.
  • Steve Silverman is selected as BP 2015 Centennial Consultant.
  • SDTMD Search Committee becomes SDTMD 2015 Steering Committee.
• July 2010 – Steve Silverman contract with the SDTMD begins.
• July -September 2010 – Silverman stakeholder interviews.
• October 2010 – Draft 1 of Silverman’s Strategic Plan / Planning Framework delivered for review.
• November 2010 – Draft 3.4.1 (final) of Planning Framework 2010-2015 approved and distributed through various channels.
• November 2010 – BRC (Bob Rogers) conducts Legler-Benbough Foundation funded charrette.
• November 2010 – SDTMD 2015 Steering Committee is dissolved.
• November 2010 – 2015 Balboa Park Centennial Celebration Steering Committee is established.  The following additions are made to the reconstituted committee:
  • Pam Slater-Price / Nadia Moshirian                       
  • Joe Terzi
  • Michael Hager                                                           
  • Tom Fetter
  • Gerry Braun                                                           
  • Lorin Stewart
  • Peter Ellsworth                                                           
  • Mike McDowell
  • Carol Chang                                                           
  • Carolyn Wormser
  • Minnie Rzeslawski                                               
  • Victoria Hamilton                       
  • Steven Hill
• November 2010 – 2015 Steering Committee establishes $1 million start-up budget goal for 2015 Host Committee
• December 2010 – San Diego Tourism Marketing District allocates $300,000 in matching, conditional funding for 2015 Host Committee start-up.
• December 2010 – Consortium of San Diego foundations commit a total of $300,000 in matching, conditional funding for 2015 Host Committee start-up
• January 2011 –
  • Initial RFQ for Executive director is published.
  • Nick Winslow presentation discussion with Steering Committee
  • 2015 Programming Vision is articulated by Steering Committee
  • BRC Final Report is Published
• February 2011 –
  • Civic leaders Nikki and Ben Clay agree to Co-Chair Host Committee
• March 2011 –
  • Steering Committee vision presentation to San Diego City Council Natural Resources and Culture Committee
• June 2011 – Balboa Park Celebration Inc. was established as 501c(3) with eight initial Board of Directors.
• October 2011 – Memorandum of Understanding between the Balboa Park Celebration Inc. and City of San Diego was approved unanimously at the City Council meeting.  Report to the City Council was also submitted to the City Council members. 
• February 2012 – Mike McDowell named new CEO of Balboa Park Celebration Inc. 
• April 2012 - Balboa Park 2015 presented the current status and reported the Community Outreach Plan at the Natural Resource and Cultural Committee meeting on April 25, 2012.