Inside Edition: THE ORANGE COUNTY CHAPTER 76
Anaheim Emerging From Pandemic With Ambitious Development Projects In The Pipeline The past year has been an unprecedented crisis for Anaheim. Even in the early months of 2020, when the first COVID cases began appearing in the U.S. followed by the initial business closures to “flatten the curve,” few predicted or expected it to become a pandemic of the virulence and endurance it has ultimately displayed. Few cities have been as severely impacted as Anaheim, whose tourism-and-convention economy was uniquely vulnerable to the pandemic. The Disneyland Resort and the ecosystem of hotels, small businesses and vendors that depend on it are the economic engine of the city, providing tens of thousands of jobs and generating half of the city’s general fund revenues.
Todd Ament
President/CEO, Anaheim Chamber of Commerce
When the governor ordered theme parks to close in mid-March 2020, what was initially expected to be a relatively brief shutdown stretched into more than a year. The Disneyland Resort was ultimately forced to lay off more than 30,000 cast members. After hanging on as long as they could, many hotels near Disneyland simply shut down and laid off their employees, while others did their best to limp along at vastly reduced capacity. Hundreds of other small businesses similarly struggled or closed their doors for good. No fans were allowed to attend Angel games, and all events at the Honda Center were cancelled. During the intervening months, the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce and the broader business community continued to press the state to issue re-opening
Southern California
BUILDER |
April 2021
