{"id":545409,"date":"2026-06-20T15:54:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T15:54:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/545409\/"},"modified":"2026-06-20T15:54:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T15:54:13","slug":"in-long-beach-you-dont-need-starchitects-to-make-a-mark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/545409\/","title":{"rendered":"In Long Beach, you don’t need ‘starchitects’ to make a mark"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Prairie Avenue in Inglewood doesn\u2019t have the name brand of Wilshire or Sunset or Rodeo. But head down there many nights and it\u2019s hard not to feel like you are cruising through the new epicenter of big budget sports and entertainment.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s the striking translucent shell <\/a>of the $2-billion Intuit Dome.<\/a> The mid-century glam of Kia Forum. And of course the $5-billion Sofi Stadium, <\/a>which looks like a spaceship landed in the middle of the L.A. basin. Sofi is once again getting a close-up with the World Cup, the star of dramatic helicopter shots, anchor stand-ups and endless selfies.<\/p>\n

But with World Cup excitement gripping Inglewood, I found myself taking in the view 20 miles south on a street called Harbor Plaza in the Port of Long Beach. This is a land of cranes and diesel big rigs and container boxes as far as the eye can see, along with the aging but still glorious Queen Mary anchored off the marina.<\/p>\n

I was here to see a new venue that is everything those Inglewood titans are not.<\/p>\n

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Long Beach is not waiting for Daddy Warbucks<\/p>\n

It\u2019s called the F&M Bank Amphitheater<\/a>, an 11,000-seat temporary waterfront that challenges the mantra that architecture and glamour and money are they keys to modern urban planning.<\/p>\n

The Long Beach deal is stripped down and basic. No swooping lines, no luxury sky boxes or LED light displays. Just a few bleachers, a stage and a lot of temporary fencing. It\u2019s so stark I found it difficult to capture for Instagram as I walked around its perimeter Thursday.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s not the point. The F&M Bank Amphitheater is already drawing praise and curiosity because of its basic feel and purity of purpose. It cost a mere $21 million and is expected to be operating for 10 years, according to the LB Post.<\/a> It opened to Snoop Dogg <\/a>and this weekend is hosting Zombie Apocalypse<\/a>, which explains all the life-size skeletons being transported around in golf carts.<\/p>\n

Mayor Rex Richardson told The Times last month<\/a> it\u2019s a proof of concept and a way to draw acts to the city as officials work to build a permanent \u201cLong Beach Bowl.\u201d It \u201crepresents a direction to invest in our city\u2019s future, to embrace our creative economy [and] to shape how people experience Long Beach,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

And Long Beach did it without global corporations, \u201cstarchitects\u201d or billionaire benefactors.<\/p>\n

The city has some prime waterfront real estate but has struggled for decades to get the big boys interested in developing it. In the 1990s, Long Beach danced with Disney over plans <\/a>\u2014 eventually aborted \u2014 to build a $2 billion theme park on the site <\/a>of the Queen Mary. More recently, there have been efforts t<\/a>o lure the Angels to a seaside stadium.<\/a> <\/p>\n

Will Long Beach ever hit the Inglewood jackpot?<\/p>\n

Maybe. But the city seems to be saying we\u2019re not just going to wait around for Daddy Warbucks to come along. Officials hope to eventually replace F&M Bank Amphitheater with a grander facility akin to San Diego\u2019s stunning Rady Shell<\/a>, which is perched on San Diego\u2018s Embarcadero Marina but cost $85 million.<\/a> <\/p>\n

Do we need the \u2018starchitects\u2019 and billionaire benefactors?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s impressive to see what ambition, daring, money and creativity can bring to urban spaces. Just look at the new LACMA complex, Disney Hall, the Broad. Or go to Manhattan, where mogul Barry Diller built a $260-million island park <\/a>off the Hudson River.<\/p>\n

This kind of investment can change geography, as Inglewood shows. <\/p>\n

The World Cup is only increasing the hype, with Mayor James Butts declaring this week, \u201cwe\u2019re an international city now.\u201d<\/a> <\/p>\n

But with the money comes the politics. Some parts of Inglewood complain<\/a> they are not seeing the lift from all those visitors. As the LA Local has been reporting, the city is now engaged in a $400-million<\/a> battle with the L.A. Rams <\/a>owner over improvement reimbursements.<\/a> <\/p>\n

Long Beach might dream of having those problems. But they\u2019ve shown their own brand of low-budget municipal daring.<\/p>\n

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