Well it’s official: After a bunch of rumors, at least ONE show run by Comic-Con International is moving to Anaheim…and it isn’t San Diego. PR below:
WonderCon, part of Comic-Con International’s (CCI) family of conventions, today announced that the 2012 show will be held March 16-18, and Anaheim, California, will play host to the long-running comics and popular arts convention. San Francisco’s Moscone Center, WonderCon’s traditional venue, will undergo renovations in early 2012, leaving the 25-year-old show in the unenviable position of either being canceled or finding a new venue.
In a move to help alleviate an overcrowded calendar, ReedPop’s C2E2, which has been waiting to announce dates for its own show in March 2012, will now seek alternative dates while Wizard World has announced that it will postpone its April 2012 Anaheim show.
“It certainly was not our wish to move,” commented David Glanzer, director of marketing and public relations for the nonprofit event. “However, when faced with the prospect of canceling the show for a year or moving locations, after careful consideration we decided to keep WonderCon on the 2012 calendar at a venue that could accommodate our needs.”
“We fully understand the challenges of trying to secure dates at any venue, let alone one undergoing renovation,” said Lance Fensterman, Group Vice President of ReedPop. “In an effort to minimize the impact on exhibitors and attendees we are currently looking to shift C2E2 from our traditional March dates.”
Gareb Shamus, CEO of Wizard World offered a unique solution to offset any potential conflict for fans and exhibitors: “All of us who produce conventions know securing dates can often be a frustrating experience especially when you find yourself having to move to a new city.” Shamus continued, “Because of their long history, Wizard World has decided to accommodate WonderCon and postpone our April 2012 Anaheim show.”
“We appreciate the efforts of Lance and Gareb for going above and beyond in making the WonderCon transition more manageable,” said Glanzer.
We sure would love to know what the Moscone Center is thinking now. And what happy dances they are doing at the Anaheim convention center, as they were a suitor up until the last minute for San Diego.
WonderCon has developed into the smaller, funner, looser little San Diego and now it could get even bigger with a venue that is behind it, and close proximity to Hollywood stars.
HIGHLY notable in this press release is the appearance of the other two big show runners, Reed’s Lance Fensterman and Wizard’s Gareb Shamus. This is, to our knowledge, the first time ANY kind of joint statement has been made, and it’s nice to see. The con wars have ended. But it does explain why C2E2 in its third year had yet to announce final dates.
Damn, just after we found our favorite SF restaurants!
Good news, this is!!
Is this a permanent move?
Awesome news, looking forward to checking out WonderCon for the first time.
Good luck finding any favorite restaurants in Anaheim, though.
*sigh* And everyone forgets that Wondercon used to be an Oakland CA event, until Comic-con bought it.
Woulda been nice to have it in Oakland. Or atleast somewhere in the Bay Area.
At least there’s still APE.
There’s plenty of great options. If you have a car. But Anaheim is pretty unfriendly to pedestrians unless you want to eat at Downtown Disney.
As a Bay Arean, I have to respectfully disagree about this being awesome news. Oh, well.
This saddens me. I’ve enjoyed Wondercon and slowly getting to know SF. I can only hope it returns.
The con wars haven’t ended. This just proves you don’t go up against Comic-Con (or even Comic-Con-lite).
As a San Franciscan, I hope it comes back. And Mike, I remember it being in Oakland. I would have taken BART again, but I doubt I’ll fly down to Anaheim. Maybe now I need to go to SD?
I liked WonderCon being in the Bay Area (and yes I live here). It was convenient via public transit and much less insane than SDCC. If I wanted to go to a con in Southern California I’d just go to SDCC. Northern California needs some love!
A train ride North or South from Anaheim will be a treat for eat if you can’t find something local. I’m pretty sure you can.
The Comic-Con staff tried everything possible to keep the show in San Francisco, but the Moscone Center just wasn’t able to accommodate them. It might not be a bad idea to contact them and let them know how much of a loss it would be if WonderCon were to permanently relocate: http://www.moscone.com/contact.html
As a San Franciscan AND a comic book fan, all I can say is that this sucks. I remember it being in Oakland as well, and I’m just surprised that they couldn’t (more than likely, wouldn’t) find a suitable venue in the SF Bay Area.
I guess Anaheim got Wondercon as the consolation prize for not being able to lure Comic Con up from SD. Now we’re left with no large comic convention up here in SF.
In a word:
Sucks.
Why is everyone acting like this is a permanent move? Based on David Glanzer’s quote above, it certainly sounds like it is in Anaheim for 2012 only. You will live without WonderCon for one year, Bay Area.
David Glanzer confirmed that they’re negotiating for a return to Moscone in 2013.
http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/wondercon_chooses_anaheim_for_march_16_18_show/
Interesting. This could be a “back door pilot”, allowing CCI to spin off a Los Angeles area show, possibly in the winter.
Google Maps shows some decent restaurants around the superblock of the convention center. The resort hotels usually have decent fare. And, if you know someone, there is always Club 33.
Tom, nice scoop, but “”We will continue to try to book dates at Moscone in San Francisco for 2013.” sound more hopeful than definitive and that is a bummmer. Obviously, as Andrew indicates, Moscone didn’t give a rat’s sassafras and that STINKS. They must be the last people to get the memo that comic-cons are cool.
I spoke to the Anaheim CVB people last year, and they are very very eager for CCI’s business.
This should be interesting… looks what’s scheduled the same weekend, in Hall A:
http://www.anaheimconventioncenter.com/eventsOpen.cfm?id=2408
That’s their championship.
Those cosplaying cheerleaders? They might not be cosplaying…
BlizzCon will use the entire building in October.
Fail! They could have moved it to Sac. I’m from Oakland, I will now skip this and just go to ComicCon. I have already talked to a bunch of people that will do the same thing… Booooooo
And just a reminder…
http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4002:7ns212.2.1
Word Mark ANAHEIM COMIC-CON
Owner (APPLICANT) San Diego Comic Convention CORPORATION CALIFORNIA 8340 Allison Avenue La Mesa CALIFORNIA 91941
And last May, they registered “San Francisco Comic-Con”. They also registered “Los Angeles Comic-Con”.
Yes, it could have been moved to Sacremento, which has space equal to Moscone West (and then some… there is an arena and theater complex nearby for big crowds).
But… this way, CCI gets to test out the Los Angeles market. It’s no risk… they get to run a show for one year. It could be temporary, or it could be a beachhead.
(And good luck getting tickets to San Diego…)
—
The C2E2 move isn’t that bad… the space is about equal to what they planned for the Lakeside.
Wow. I’ve followed WonderCon since some of its earliest days. I lived in Oakland while it was in Oakland. I could ride my bike to the event. Then it moved to San Francisco, and that was okay, too. It’s always nice because Image Comics is also located in the area (Berkeley). But now… looks like it’s time to add another road trip to the convention schedule.
Still, good luck to all involved. If it’s good for comics then I support it.
Well then. Guess I won’t be going there any more.
It’s hardly a scoop, and I’ll take David at his word for now. Plenty of time to report on actual changes in plans if and when they get made. I think the bigger key is they didn’t rule out Moscone or say they’ll delay negotiations until after WC 2012.
I have no insight into the Moscone people, either, other than the bare minimum fact that they weren’t able to work something out with WonderCon for 2012, and that they really are making renovations. I have no idea what their attitude is.
The Bay Area’s not totally without a major springtime comics show:
http://www.super-con.com/
It’s hard to beat San Francisco as a destination and for convenience, though.
If this is ONLY a temporary move – why not at least keep it in the Bay Area? Oakland, Sacramento, San Jose – all with enough room and to spare. I hope it comes back – I’ve been attending for 20+ years — as Anaheim sure as heck isn’t the Bay Area. Overwise, I’m done with Wondercon, sadly. Wonder who in SF convention bureau fell down on the job with this one…
Read it right now and heart broken. I live in Madera and going to WC since 19 now I’m friggin pissed off! Southern CAL SUCKS BIG TIME! Can’t stand those clowns.
http://www.newsarama.com/comics/wondercon-anaheim-march-2012-110901.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Z27I2ZCqkk&feature=channel_video_title
As a big time sucky SoCal clown, I’ll enjoy being able to walk from home to this one WonderCon, but I agree that SF is a better location for it (so much good stuff within walking distance; not that driving is a good option). One good note about Anaheim (since there’s not much good stuff within walking distance), parking is cheaper here– heck it’s free along West Street (south of Anaheim Convention Center, in the residential area). Go a little further south (1 mile from ACC) and you’ll find a nice little Italian restaurant that I walk to– Carolina’s.
Comparing Super-Con and Wonder-Con is not a fruitful exercise, which I say having exhibited at both.
@Andrew Farago, there’s nothing “major” about Big Wow Super Comic Fest or whatever it’s called now. There were more dealers than customers there on Sunday this year.
Geez… all the doom and gloom… it’s like Wonder Con has stopped wearing red shorts on the outside of its costume!
When the possibility was announced a few months ago, I checked the rest of Moscone’s schedule to see if it could move to a different part of the center.
http://www.comicsbeat.com/2011/07/27/is-wondercon-moving-to-anaheim/#comment-85385
North and South show no events. Both are being renovated, with work continuing until July 2012. Why both at the same time?
Guys… it’s one year. Now, if Moscone screws up on 2013 (very unlikely, they’ve got time to schedule, nothing on the Moscone calendar after December 2012), then you can rend your garments and question the existence of supernatural entities.
And look on the bright side… you’ve still got APE!
As for other venues:
Moscone West Level 1 has 96K sq ft of space.
Oakland CC has 48K.
San Jose CC has 143K. Their events calendar does show space for March 2012.
Even Santa Clara could host it, with some 85K of space.
@Jamba – to be fair, we aren’t crazy about you either
Any of my fellow Bay Area comics fans who still thinks this isn’t a permanent move should consider Glanzer’s comment as quoted in the latest CBR article on the change:
“We’re not happy about having to leave San Francisco, and we’d like to still try to do something in a much, much, much scaled down way to have fun with the fans.”
Notice Glanzer doesn’t say, “We’re not happy about having to relocate temporarily.” He says, “We’re not happy about having to LEAVE San Francisco.” Those aren’t the words of someone who’s thinking about this as a short-term stopgap measure.
Don’t be fooled, Bay Area fans. CCI has already abandoned us.
That’s selective reading of the article. The fact is the con is leaving San Francisco, for 2012. He adds the discussion was: “do we sit out A YEAR, or do we find a smaller place that works”. Also regarding securing 2013 dates for the convention: “We’d love to be back in San Francisco”.
There is absolutely nothing in the article or anywhere else that indicates, or even implies, that WonderCon has left SF beyond 2012.
I love the city of San Francisco, but the insecurity of Bay Area people in regards to Southern California never ceases to amaze me. It makes Philly’s insecurity re: New York seem mild by comparison.
I agree, that’s also selective reading of the article.
I’m fine with it moving for just one year. However, if it does last longer (for whatever reason) I would hope they’d move it again… to smaller venue.
I’ve been to conventions at the Anaheim center (twice for E3 expo). It’s HUGE and it’s multi-leveled. WonderCon may not fill even a portion of it and it might come off looking skimpy. I’m not saying I’d prefer a cramped environment, but the atmosphere changes when holding an event in the sea of dead space. E3 is huge, but WonderCon, as much as I do like it… is not *huge* in that way — which is one of the reasons it has been a fan favorite for so many years.
But as I said before, if it helps the medium then I’m for it. Another thing to consider. This year Marvel comics returned to WonderCon after an absence of several years. With WC in DC’s backyard in 2012 it would be nice if the *big two* show a presence, again. I like indy comics, but I like a full spectrum even more.
Anyone who’s happy about this has either never been to a con in Anaheim or… well, I don’t actually know what the alternative could be. That is the worst convention venue I’ve ever been to, not just including comic cons but any other type of convention I’ve attended. It’s ugly, it’s impersonal, there’s nothing to do when the con lets out (other than Disneyland..), there’s no local comics community – it’s just everything that both Moscone Center and the San Diego convention center are NOT.
I have to travel and stay at a hotel to attend either SF OR Anaheim, so proximity isn’t the problem. It’s just that this convention center REALLY sucks.
Well, hopefully this is just a one-year thing and it will be back where it belongs next year!
Disappointed that WONDERCON couldn’t find another place in the Bay Area. (Really, nothing was available up there?)
Hopefully next year, visiting Con-goers will be able to add SFMOMA and the CARTOON ART MUSEUM back to their Moscone Center walking-area visitings (if not additionally a trip to AMOEBA Music, or even a Telegraph Ave/UCB expedition across the Bay).
I’m certain LA Basin Comics/Pop Culture fans will make up any deficit lost by NoCAL’ers unwilling to drive down the I-5 into the heart of SoCAL. Esp. those SoCAL’ers locked out of attending this year’s Comic-Con? Nothing like having “SDCC. Jr.” in their backyard to ease that pain…
And: VERY funny to see the same old “Is Comic-Con Moving to Anaheim?” talk, analyses and promulagations refitted for WONDERCON with this
(temporary) relocation. Must have some West Coast CON DRAMA for the Comicsratti to talk about, since Comic-Con renewed its contract with SD till 2015, right?
OMG people, READ the press release.
Moscone Center is being RENOVATED. NOBODY is going to be holding a convention there while that’s happening. They can’t GIVE firm dates for 2013 because nobody has a crystal ball on what is going to happen with the renovations, etc. RELAX!
I also have attended WC since the Oakland days, and this bothers me not at all. I go to CCI every year, WC almost every year, and this year will be my first APE, which I’m really looking forward to.
There are PLENTY of good and convenient restaurants within walking (or super easy driving) distance. Everything from fantastic carne asada burritos to a 24-hour Subway to high-end (Morton’s steakhouse) within 200 yards of the place. There is a plethora of hotels of all price ranges. While I will always love SFO, I am delighted it is bumping down here for a year. Put it this way, Anaheim is LEAGUES better than L.A. — LA Live is overpriced and REALLY has nothing going for it. All the LA hotels are astronomical, as well as their parking fees.