Cow Palace rumblings
By John Horgan
Thursday, May 17th, 2007 at 8:30 am in Uncategorized.
Change may be on the horizon at the Cow Palace in Daly City. The board of directors of the aging arena is in negotiations to lease a 13-acre upper parking lot to Daly City’s redevelopment agency to generate badly needed annual operating cash. Additionally, the board is considering a proposal to sell the Cow Palace, which opened in 1941, to private investors interested in building a new version of the facility on former Southern Pacific Railroad land in Brisbane. Another presentation by Pro Sports Venture Capital is anticipated at the board’s June 19 meeting. The Cow Palace, once one of the premier large convention, entertainment and sporting venues on the West Coast, has fallen on relatively hard times as new, larger and more modern indoor facilities have been created from Seattle to San Diego, including several right here in the Bay Area. Stay tuned.
[You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.]
May 18th, 2007 at 4:36 pm
The start of your article about the Cow Palace, “the massive 66 year old barn”, left me disappointed. Your history of the building was accurate. The project did put people to work coming out of the depression & has continued since then to be one of the great assets of this area. As recently as last October, Elton John, following a 20 year hiatus, spoke fondly of the Cow Palace, telling fans in attendance how happy he was to be back. Yes, this structure harbors great memories, decades of top entertainment, a “hey day” lasting well over sixty years.
There are several newer venues including some in the planning stage, but the Cow Palace still continues to serve the ever-changing Bay Area Communities, i.e., Eason Chan concert in March 2007, over 10,000 in attendance; Vicente Fernandez concert last weekend, also over 10,000 attending. Yes, we are currently negotiating a lease with Daly City Redevelopment Agency over a portion of Cow Palace property which will benefit both sides if finalized. The “barn” door is far from being closed!
May 18th, 2007 at 5:06 pm
Who said the Cow Palace is closing for good? Certainly not this correspondent. However, if anyone is going to attempt to put a happy face on conditions at the Daly City barn (OK, “cavernous, drafty exhibit hall”), that would make little sense in light of the harsh realities that have been obvious for many years. Those of us who have spent countless hours within the walls of that old building when it was flourishing do indeed have happy memories of the place. But it can’t go on as it has over the past several decades. It’s been overtaken and surpassed by other, newer buildings. Something has to give. There is no major tenant that ties up 40-50 or so dates a year. Pet shows, weapons exhibits, model train layouts, religious revivals and the occasional circus, rock concert or erotic ball won’t be enough. Neither will living in the past. The main arena is simply too vacant too often. No one’s pleased about that. Maybe the people who run the Cow Palace and the San Mateo County Expo Center ought to get together and come up with some common solutions that can benefit the entire Peninsula, especially with the impending demise of Bay Meadows, and the possible loss of horse racing in August, facing the County Fair folks. San Francisco, on the other hand, has its own problems. Best of luck as you and the directors attempt to bring the Cow Palace back to life.
May 19th, 2007 at 9:20 am
Not a bad looking redevelopment site for multi-family residential with neighborhood retail. It is hoped the powers that be would make the information available to all in a transparent way.
May 19th, 2007 at 10:24 am
All meetings of the Cow Palace board of directors are open to the public. Their agendas and minutes, when available, can be found on the Web, although it does take considerable work to find them. Still, anyone can attend those board gatherings. The Cow Palace, after all, is owned by the taxpayers of California. The next board meeting is scheduled for June 19 at 9 a.m. at the Cow Palace. Feel free to show up. Hey, it’s your money.