Starlight Operator Faces Ouster : Burbank Says Promoter Violated Pact

The city of Burbank has found the operator of the financially troubled Starlight Amphitheater in breach of contract for failing to book a variety of popular entertainment in the past 3 years.

The City Council decided on a 3-2 vote Tuesday night that Tim Pinch had not lived up to his contract, which could lead to his ouster as operator of the 6,000-seat amphitheater. Pinch has 30 days to correct the breach, or a notice of termination could be issued, council members said.

Since Pinch took over as operator in 1986, there has been a “downward trend” in the variety of entertainment at the amphitheater, said Richard Inga, director of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department. In 1986, there were 13 shows at the facility; in 1987, there were 11, and this year, there were five, from April 9 through July 31. The amphitheater’s season ended Oct. 31.

Inga said Pinch has not tried hard enough to determine what kind of entertainment Burbank residents want to see at the facility.

“I don’t recognize any of these acts,” Mayor Al F. Dossin said of the five concerts Pinch staged last summer. “I’m not seeing the entertainment I thought I’d see. This is not something for everybody.”

The acts performing this season included Steel Pulse, a reggae band; UK Subs; Broken Bones; Snafu and Time Machine, all rock bands, and folk artists The Knitters and Jesse Colin Young.

The biggest crowds were drawn during two reggae festivals, which attracted about 3,000 people each, half of the Starlight’s capacity.

Pinch, 35, said Wednesday that an agreement he made with the high-powered Weintraub Entertainment Group of Beverly Hills will help bring more popular acts to the facility and will help convince the council that he has been working in good faith to establish the Starlight as a viable entertainment venue.

Pinch said he has not breached his contract. He said he has provided a variety of entertainment. He bristled at the council’s criticism of the acts that have performed this year.

“As a professional in show business, I know variety of entertainment better than some council member who doesn’t even recognize the acts I’m bringing,” Pinch said.

City Atty. Douglas C. Holland said the only way Pinch can realistically demonstrate that he is not in breach of contract is to “show he is aggressively managing the Starlight. We’ve had 3 years of promises.”

Pinch’s contract requires him to pay Burbank a minimum of $35,000 this year. City officials said he has paid on schedule, and his remaining $5,000 payment is due Dec. 1.

City officials have at times referred to the Starlight as a “white elephant.” They have long wanted to turn the facility into a venue featuring community-oriented and popular acts.

The Starlight has been the subject of considerable controversy since the 1970s when city officials banned rock acts from performing there. Two years ago, Burbank paid a $3.8-million settlement to a promoter who sued the city for preventing him from presenting rock groups.