Last month, LEGOLAND California Resort celebrated the opening of the largest single-project expansion in its history, a long-awaited 250-room hotel at the entrance of the theme park. Though skies were gray, moods were bright and celebratory. A skit featuring an explorer, a knight and a pirate culminated in colorful confetti raining down on the crowd of spectators, who cheered enthusiastically.
In the audience, the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce was well represented. President and CEO Ted Owen and Board Chairman Carlton Lund were present to mark the occasion, celebrating another chapter in the history of LEGOLAND in Carlsbad, and cementing the long-standing relationship between the Chamber and the theme park, which was named the Chamber's Large Business of the Decade at the Annual Business Awards.
"The LEGOLAND team has worked with the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce since before LEGOLAND opened in 1999," LEGOLAND General Manager Peter Ronchetti said after the grand opening ceremony. "We work closely with the Chamber up to this very day. We love working in Carlsbad. It's a fantastic city for us to grow our business year after year. We wouldn't want to be anywhere else."
LEGOLAND California Resort is Carlsbad's seventh largest employers, even without the new jobs added by the hotel.
Ted Owen, President and CEO of the Chamber since 2004, said LEGOLAND is a crucial player in the city's prosperity.
"I think LEGOLAND California kept Carlsbad from suffering as much as other cities during the recession," Owen said. "A lot of people might have put off traveling to Europe, or others places in the United States, stayed in the area and spent their hard-earned money in Carlsbad because of LEGOLAND."
The addition of the hotel can only improve that, noted Ronchetti.
"This hotel gives LEGOLAND a whole resort layer," he said. "It means people can stay overnight, enjoy the facility and then get into the park early the next day."
Demand has been so strong that even before it officially opened, the hotel is booked solidly through at least a third of 2013.
These days, LEGOLAND California Resort is often synonymous with Carlsbad, mentioned in the same breath as the beauty of its beaches or its status as the "golf capital of the world." However, back when the Denmark-based LEGO company was still deciding where to place its first theme park in the United States, the Chamber was a crucial champion of the project.
In the early '90s, the Chamber formed a task force to promote the benefits to the community of having LEGOLAND here. They mentioned the economic benefits, the increase in tourism and the jobs it would create as reasons why the project should be supported. A delegation of Chamber representatives traveled to a LEGOLAND park in Denmark and reported their findings to the community, defending the project against its critics.
On Nov. 19, 1993 LEGO officials picked Carlsbad over the other finalist in Virginia and the Chamber celebrated the outcome with then-Gov. Pete Wilson and other state lawmakers during a press conference.
Then-president Elaine Lyttleton called the effort to woo LEGO a "first-class" team effort between the Chamber, the City of Carlsbad, the county of San Diego and the state of California that resulted in a successful economic development program.
"Throughout the months of LEGO's selection process, through all the meetings, letter writing, press conferences and rallies … we at the Chamber kept telling ourselves: It is better to try something great and fail, than to try nothing at all and succeed."
After LEGO made its decision, the Chamber was a big supporter of the ballot measure in 1994 in which residents voted on the construction of the park. That measure was approved by 57 percent of the city's voters. The Chamber supported LEGOLAND throughout the development process.
The park opened in 1999. Since then, it has opened the SEA LIFE aquarium and a water park and attendance has grown every year.
"LEGOLAND is great for Carlsbad and Carlsbad is great for LEGOLAND," said Lund. "It's opening was truly a great day for the community."
In the audience, the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce was well represented. President and CEO Ted Owen and Board Chairman Carlton Lund were present to mark the occasion, celebrating another chapter in the history of LEGOLAND in Carlsbad, and cementing the long-standing relationship between the Chamber and the theme park, which was named the Chamber's Large Business of the Decade at the Annual Business Awards.
"The LEGOLAND team has worked with the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce since before LEGOLAND opened in 1999," LEGOLAND General Manager Peter Ronchetti said after the grand opening ceremony. "We work closely with the Chamber up to this very day. We love working in Carlsbad. It's a fantastic city for us to grow our business year after year. We wouldn't want to be anywhere else."
LEGOLAND California Resort is Carlsbad's seventh largest employers, even without the new jobs added by the hotel.
Ted Owen, President and CEO of the Chamber since 2004, said LEGOLAND is a crucial player in the city's prosperity.
"I think LEGOLAND California kept Carlsbad from suffering as much as other cities during the recession," Owen said. "A lot of people might have put off traveling to Europe, or others places in the United States, stayed in the area and spent their hard-earned money in Carlsbad because of LEGOLAND."
The addition of the hotel can only improve that, noted Ronchetti.
"This hotel gives LEGOLAND a whole resort layer," he said. "It means people can stay overnight, enjoy the facility and then get into the park early the next day."
Demand has been so strong that even before it officially opened, the hotel is booked solidly through at least a third of 2013.
These days, LEGOLAND California Resort is often synonymous with Carlsbad, mentioned in the same breath as the beauty of its beaches or its status as the "golf capital of the world." However, back when the Denmark-based LEGO company was still deciding where to place its first theme park in the United States, the Chamber was a crucial champion of the project.
In the early '90s, the Chamber formed a task force to promote the benefits to the community of having LEGOLAND here. They mentioned the economic benefits, the increase in tourism and the jobs it would create as reasons why the project should be supported. A delegation of Chamber representatives traveled to a LEGOLAND park in Denmark and reported their findings to the community, defending the project against its critics.
On Nov. 19, 1993 LEGO officials picked Carlsbad over the other finalist in Virginia and the Chamber celebrated the outcome with then-Gov. Pete Wilson and other state lawmakers during a press conference.
Then-president Elaine Lyttleton called the effort to woo LEGO a "first-class" team effort between the Chamber, the City of Carlsbad, the county of San Diego and the state of California that resulted in a successful economic development program.
"Throughout the months of LEGO's selection process, through all the meetings, letter writing, press conferences and rallies … we at the Chamber kept telling ourselves: It is better to try something great and fail, than to try nothing at all and succeed."
After LEGO made its decision, the Chamber was a big supporter of the ballot measure in 1994 in which residents voted on the construction of the park. That measure was approved by 57 percent of the city's voters. The Chamber supported LEGOLAND throughout the development process.
The park opened in 1999. Since then, it has opened the SEA LIFE aquarium and a water park and attendance has grown every year.
"LEGOLAND is great for Carlsbad and Carlsbad is great for LEGOLAND," said Lund. "It's opening was truly a great day for the community."