July 6, 2015: San Diego Prefers Comic-Con to Chargers, Nascar Cancels Event at Trump Property, Summit Celebrates Dalai Lama's 80th

1. COMIC-CON MORE CRUCIAL TO SAN DIEGO THAN CHARGERS: Comic-Con International begins later this week, and although the San Diego mayor, Kevin Faulconer, announced the annual four-day festival will remain in the city through 2018, a poll by the San Diego Union-Tribune revealed its readers are more passionate about the event than the local N.F.L. team. CBS Sports: http://cbsprt.co/1IEidup

For the nonprofit organization that runs Comic-Con, securing the location of the convention isn't the only challenge it's facing: competing events could be damaging to the brand as it seeks new avenues for revenue growth. The New York Times: http://nyti.ms/1H4ym7b

2. NASCAR PULLS AWARD CEREMONY FROM TRUMP PROPERTY: Before the holiday weekend, Nascar became the latest group to break ties with Donald Trump. The sports organization announced on Friday that it will not host its season-ending award ceremony at the Trump National Doral Miami as originally planned and is seeking a new venue to hold the event. New York Post: http://bit.ly/1S1r6ij

3. ARE SPORTS EVENTS BEST FOR CLIENT ENTERTAINING?: Speaking of sports events, Michael Levine, the co-head of CAA Sports, tells Adweek that live competitions remain a hot ticket for business entertaining. "It's the only real-time must-see TV that exists on the programming schedule, and because of that, the event itself has risen in prominence among passionate and even casual fans....The thing most people don't realize is that most Fortune 500 companies are looking to create and provide some sort of unique experience either for their staff, through employee incentive programs, or for existing customers or potential customers." http://bit.ly/1H4sElB

4. ANAHEIM CELEBRATES DALAI LAMA'S 80TH BIRTHDAY: Nobel Peace laureates, 18,000 supporters, and an eight-foot-high birthday cake filled the Honda Center in Anaheim on Sunday for the Dalai Lama's 80th birthday. The celebration for the Tibetan spiritual leader kicked off the three-day Global Compassion Summit and, according to the Los Angeles Times, the bash included remarks by "actors, activists and academics [who] poured praise as the exiled Tibetan leader sat in a tufted white seat at the center of the stage. The number of speakers caused some discontent among attendees. After [Julia] Ormond spoke on the necessity of empathy as an actress, one voice from the grandstand crowed, ‘Let his holiness speak!’” http://lat.ms/1Tg021k

* LOCAL NEWS *

ATLANTA:  Terminal West will host the first live stage at this year's TomorrowWorld, which will be held September 25-27 at Chattahoochee Hills. Atlanta Business Chronicle: http://bit.ly/1emQnqo

BOSTON:  The Island Creek Oyster Festival will take place September 19. Benefitting Island Creek Oysters Foundation, the event will offer snacks from 30 chefs, along with live music and art.

CHICAGO:  The weekend's Grateful Dead concert, part of the band's final concert tour, broke attendance records at Soldier Field, attracting 70,764 on Friday and 70,844 on Saturday. The New York Times: http://nyti.ms/1CVHque

Glaze Teriyaki opened its first Chicago location last week. The eatery, which offers catering, serves chicken thigh and breast with the house teriyaki sauce; it also has cold soba noodle salad, charred pork rib, and crispy gyoza dumplings.

LAS VEGAS:  Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino has partnered with Back Bar USA to host the "Las Vegas Beer and Barrel Project" August 28-30.

LOS ANGELES:  The Creative Coalition and TV Guide magazine announced that the first annual Television Industry Advocacy Awards will take place September 18 at the Sunset Tower in West Hollywood. The event will bring together actors, showrunners, and executives to recognize those who use their celebrity status to advocate for charity and social causes.

Local event listings from Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/losangeles

MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA:  YVE Hotel Miami has debuted new meeting and event space. The Bayfront meeting space is 2,000 square feet and consists of a conference room, two boardrooms, and two break areas for meetings of as many as 50 people.

NEW YORK:  The South Fork Natural History Museum's annual summer gala will honor April Gornik, Adrian Grenier, and Willi Salm on July 11. The evening affair will also include music by the Nancy Atlas Project Band, a silent auction, and sustainable seafood hors d’oeuvres catered by Peter Ambrose.

NYC & Company has expanded its Delegate Discount Pass program, which offers discounts to attractions, shops, and restaurants to meeting and convention attendees, exhibitors, meeting planners, and event staff. The program now includes more than 110 participating organizations.

Eat NYC the Bronx Food and Wine Festival, which benefits the Food Bank for New York City, is September 17 at the Mall at Bay Plaza.

Local event listings from Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/newyork

ORLANDO/CENTRAL FLORIDA:  Forty-four local chefs will participate in Taste of the Nation 2015, which will be held August 8 at the Orlando World Center Marriott. Orlando Sentinel: http://bit.ly/1emQZwb

PHILADELPHIA:  Philadelphia has legalized Airbnb ahead of the expected influx of visitors for Pope Francis's public appearances September 26 and 27. Mashable: http://on.mash.to/1JCk8OY

SAN FRANCISCO:  Paul Devitt is the new area vice president for Grand Hyatt San Francisco.

TORONTO:  According to Condé Nast Traveler, Toronto has shed its "prudish reputation," and, "Thanks to a startling post-recession recovery, the gentrification of former working-class neighborhoods and a full-blown construction craze have transformed the skyline, and former industrial zones like West Toronto Junction are morphing into creative hubs as galleries and studios take over empty warehouses." http://cntrvlr.com/1IvLKGDe

WASHINGTON, D.C.:  Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington is planning a “Power Hour” event July 27 at Mess Hall. The gathering will double as a thank-you for sponsors of this year’s Rammy awards.

YOUR NEWS: What are you doing? Tell us: [email protected]. 

JOB BOARD: Post a job or find a job: http://jobs.bizbash.com

With contributions from Jenny Berg in Chicago, Alesandra Dubin in Los Angeles, Mitra Sorrells in Orlando, and Beth Kormanik, Michele Laufik, Jill Menze, Anna Sekula, and Ian Zelaya in New York.

BizBash Daily is the must-read digest of event industry news from BizBash.com.

Feed the Sheet: [email protected]

Subscribe: www.bizbash.com/bizbashdaily

Advertise with BizBash: [email protected]