Citizens Business Bank Arena Needs More Concerts

So says the venue’s new general manager, who believes the arena – which has attracted its share of top-flight entertainment during its eight years in business- can do even better in that area. Meanwhile, the Ontario facility is home to two professional sports teams and hosts about 150 events per year.

Since it opened eight years ago, Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario has provided the Inland Empire with a solid mix of entertainment: minor league sports, the WWE, Disney on Ice and Ringing Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus, among other acts.

The facility’s new general manager, Ryan Northcott, says he likes that mix, comparing it favorably to the entertainment mix he worked with at his last job, booking director at Oracle Arena in Oakland.

But there’s one area where Northcott believes the arena can do even better, and might even be considered and underused entity.

“I  want us get more concerts, “ said Northcott, who took over daily operations of the 11,000-seat arena on Nov. 7. “That’s the one area where I think we can do a lot better. I’m trying to make that my number one priority.”

The multipurpose arena is home to the Ontario Reign, an affiliate of the NHL Los Angeles Kings, and the Ontario Fury of the Major Indoor Soccer League.

The Los Angeles D-Fenders, an NBA Development League Team, have played some of their home games there, and in 2012 the arena was home to the Ontario Warriors, a member of American Indoor Football. That franchise folded, along with the league itself, before the 2012 season ended.

Not that the arena – which opened Oct. 24, 2008, with an exhibition game between the Lakers and the Oklahoma City Thunder – hasn’t done well as a musical venue: it’s hosted Elton John, Metallica, the Eagles, Bob Dylan, Trace Adkins, Alan Jackson and Justin Bieber, among others.

Next summer, the facility will add Tim McGraw and Faith Hill to that list: approximately 7,000 tickets have been sold for the country duo’s July 22 show, which is projected to sell out, Northcott said.

“That tells me that if we get the right kind of entertainment we’re a strong concert venue,” Northcott said. “After that, it’s just a matter of selling tickets.”

The arena, which is owned by the city of Ontario and operated by SMG World in Philadelphia, is for several reasons uniquely positioned to attract a top musical acts, Northcott said.

First, there are about 6,000 hotel rooms in the greater Ontario area, so finding a place to stay is not a problem.

Second, the arena is no more than three miles from Ontario International Airport, which means performers and their travel parties don’t have to venture from Los Angeles or Orange County to reach the venue.

With the Ontario International now in local hands – Los Angeles World Airports officially handed over ownership to Ontario Nov. 1 – Northcott believes the airport will become a better destination and make the arena more attractive.

“If people can go right from the airport to the hotel in a short drive, that goes a long way toward booking acts,” Northcott said “It’s a lot better than having to drive from LAX. People will know there’s another place to play besides Los Angeles or Orange County.”

The arena’s seating capacity, which for concerts is about 8,000 seats less than the Staples Center in Los Angeles and the Honda Center in Anaheim, should work in the venue’s favor over time, Northcott said.

“Most acts don’t sell 19,000 tickets to one concert very often,” Northcott said. “A few do, but not very many. Most of them are more comfortable with a building our size, and we can arrange it any way they like. Have you ever seen a show from the top of Staples or the Honda Center? It like looking down at ants at a picnic.”

Northcott has experience signing musical acts. During an 18 to 24-month period in Oakland, he raised from 17 to 45 the number of concerts at Oracle Arena and the neighboring Oakland Alameda Coliseum.

“It’s about making sure the acts you’re going after know about the marketplace,” Northcott said. “You have to engage them.”

The arena is built on the property where Ontario Motor Speedway once stood. It was going to be called Ontario Community Events Center Arena, but Citizens Business Bank agreed to a corporate sponsorship before the facility opened.

CBBA, as it’s sometimes called, hosts roughly 150 to 160 events a year, only a few of which are concerts. Northcott’s short-term goal is to get the number of events to 200 and move up from there. “I’d like to get to 365,” he quipped.

There’s even potential in the arena’s parking lots.

“I’d like to see us do auto shows, corporate parties, things like that,” Northcott said. “We have a lot of parking space, and some of it hardly ever gets used.”

Citizens Business Bank Arena has succeeded because it’s in a good location and the people who run it know their audience, said Jay Prag, professor of economics and finance at the Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University.

“You don’t see any [highbrow] stuff there, which is good,” Prag said. “Also, the arena seems to be doing well financially, which isn’t always true of venues that size.  A lot of them don’t pencil out over time.”