Ted Weggeland

"We are only going to be able to book larger conventions if we have a larger convention center, but to fill a larger convention center, we have to have more hotel rooms in the city," said Ted Weggeland, director of the Historic Mission Inn Corp., which owns the Mission Inn and manages the Riverside Convention Center.

What Comes First?
...
It's also small enough that groups can consider it their own personal convention center, said Weggeland."It's not so large that they'll be bumping into other groups.For the bigger groups, we say, 'This building is yours,' " he said.
...
Weggeland recalled a visit by a group of international meeting planners years ago whose first glimpse of Riverside was a car ride down Market Street.

"They were appalled at what they saw," he said.Since then, Market Street has been improved, and he hopes for the same for downtown as long as the development is timed correctly.

Inland Empire, Ted Weggeland, Entrepreneurial Hospitality Corp.

Ted Weggeland, Director of The Historic Mission Inn Corporation, the firm that operates the Mission Inn and Convention Center, supported the project and agrees: "In order to attract additional conventions and spur tourism, downtown Riverside must be business and technology friendly.

Ted Weggeland - President, Entrepreneurial Hospitality Corporation

One company , Entrepreneurial Hospitality Corporation , operates and manages the Riverside Convention Center , under the direction of President Ted Weggeland.Another company , Entrepreneurial Investment Corporation , is the joint venture partner of Riverside-based Sheffield Homes.Sheffield Homes has built or has under various stages of development , 13 projects in Riverside , San Bernardino , Los Angeles and Orange counties , which total more than 850 homes.

Ted Weggeland , PresidentEntrepreneurial Hospitality Corporation

...
As president of the Entrepreneurial Hospitality Corporation , Ted Weggeland manages both the Riverside Convention Center and the Riverside Convention Bureau.

Overseeing the bureau , he has helped to build a well-experienced sales team , which has recently booked events such as the Congressional Medal of Honor Society Convention , the American Legion State Convention and the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards Banquet.

Weggeland also heads up the Entrepreneurial Restaurants Corporation which operates the Mission Inn Coffee Company and is developing restaurants in the Riverside area.

Kanellos Astor , Executive DirectorOntario Convention Center Corporation

He's orchestrated the building , design and construction of the new Ontario Convention Center Corporation.Although most people might shy away from all the responsibility , Kanellos Astor feels right at stomping around in muddy boots and wearing a hard hat.

Ted Weggeland

Ted Weggeland is President of Entrepreneurial Hospitality Corporation, which manages both the Riverside Convention Center and the Riverside Convention Bureau.His operative words are: involved with good ideas and making them better.The Convention Center recently completed a $2 million renovation that makes it one of the preeminent meeting facilities in Southern California.He organized the Convention Bureau which was recently awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor Society National Convention and the American Legion Convention.

Weggeland is also Executive Vice President of the Historic Mission Inn Corporation, which owns and operates the National Historic Landmark Mission Inn in Riverside, and is President of Entrepreneurial Restaurants Corporation, which is developing Riverside area restaurant ventures.A member of the Board of Directors of the Riverside Downtown Partnership, the Inland Empire Tourism Council, and the Orange Blossom Festival, he was recently appointed to the California Travel and Tourism Commission by Governor Pete Wilson.

Weggeland previously represented the 64th Assembly District in the California State Legislature and served as Republican Party Whip and Chairman of the Banking and Finance Committee (improving the status quo is one of his priorities).While in the Assembly, Weggeland authored numerous bills including measures to redevelop March Air Force Base, deter frivolous lawsuits, and maximize the efficiency of California's foreign trade offices.

Weggeland earned his B.A. in political science at U.C.L.A., and his juris doctorate from the Pepperdine University School of Law, where he was a Margaret Brock Scholar.He lives in Riverside with his wife Jennifer and their two children, Will, age 4, and Katherine, age 2.

Ted Weggeland

Ted Weggeland is President of Entrepreneurial Hospitality Corporation, which manages both the Riverside Convention Center and the Riverside Convention Bureau.His operative words are: involved with good ideas and making them better.The Convention Center recently completed a $2 million renovation that makes it one of the preeminent meeting facilities in Southern California.He organized the Convention Bureau which was recently awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor Society National Convention and the American Legion Convention.

Weggeland is also Executive Vice President of the Historic Mission Inn Corporation, which owns and operates the National Historic Landmark Mission Inn in Riverside, and is President of Entrepreneurial Restaurants Corporation, which is developing Riverside area restaurant ventures.A member of the Board of Directors of the Riverside Downtown Partnership, the Inland Empire Tourism Council, and the Orange Blossom Festival, he was recently appointed to the California Travel and Tourism Commission by Governor Pete Wilson.

Weggeland previously represented the 64th Assembly District in the California State Legislature and served as Republican Party Whip and Chairman of the Banking and Finance Committee (improving the status quo is one of his priorities).While in the Assembly, Weggeland authored numerous bills including measures to redevelop March Air Force Base, deter frivolous lawsuits, and maximize the efficiency of California's foreign trade offices.

Weggeland earned his B.A. in political science at U.C.L.A., and his juris doctorate from the Pepperdine University School of Law, where he was a Margaret Brock Scholar.He lives in Riverside with his wife Jennifer and their two children, Will, age 4, and Katherine, age 2.

Adam Bondeson & Terilynn Keegan

Lodestone Adventures, Inc. is located in the beautiful mountains of Big Bear Lake, California.

Ted Weggeland, president of the firm that runs the Mission Inn and the city's Convention Center, said the visit by Bush raised Riverside's profile immeasurably.He said any costs incurred by the city was money well spent, noting the international attention paid to the president's meeting with Schwarzenegger at the historic hotel.

Ted Weggeland, the director of the Historic Mission Inn Corporation, said advertising pushes in San Diego, Los Angeles and Orange County for the famed Riverside hotel could explain some of the tourism growth.

"The Mission Inn is getting some nice play nationally," he said, adding that the hotel has booked more corporate business visitors and weekend tourists.

The hotel firm would create up to 20,000 square feet of banquet space and 50 to 75 additional hotel rooms out of the maze of walls and staircases in the annex, and construct a three or four-story retail and residential complex on the adjacent property, said Ted Weggeland, a director of the inn corporation.

Weggeland is also president of the Entrepreneurial Hospitality Corp.The city pays the corporation $125,000 a year in management fees to operate and market the convention center.

He said the delay in hiring a consultant may be a good idea until downtown reaches "a critical amount" of retail and night life activity.

However, the convention center and surrounding hotels generally operate at high occupancy rates now, and ramped up downtown activity - which conventioneers find attractive - would spell the need for more rooms and a larger center.

"To a certain extent, it's what comes first, the chicken or the egg," he said.

One thing is sure, however.

"We know for certain right now: that if we had a larger convention center, we wouldn't have the hotel rooms [to support it]," Weggeland said.

Copyright 2002 Belo Interactive • Site design and hosting by PE.com

>