<strong>ME</strong>RCEDES-BENZ ARENA Berlin, Germany Berlin’s Mercedes-Benz Arena is the 17,000 seat entertainment district anchor and is home to the Eisbaren Berlin Hockey Club and Alba Berlin Basketball team. One of the most modern multipurpose arenas in the world, a one-of-a-kind LED wall transforms the front façade of the building into a massive video screen. The Entertainment District includes residences, a Holiday Inn, Daimler headquarters and Zalando headquarters. Further development of the district ill include 500,000 square feet of shopping, a movie theater, bowling, restaurants and a showroom. OliverMcMillan | 32 World Class Waterfront Development Opportunity
HOTEL OPERATOR In the midst of the Bahia’s gradual growth (helped by the hotel’s tremendous popularity with travelers), the couple built the Catamaran Resort Hotel, a Polynesian-themed hotel on a private leasehold at the northwest corner of Mission Bay. Upon its completion in 1959, the Catamaran was added to the family of Evans Hotels. Initially an 82-room inn, expansion of the hotel began in 1968 with the construction of the 13-story, <strong>16</strong>0-guestroom tower. Between 1986 and 1988, the resort was completely renovated and expanded to its current 313 rooms. To make transportation between the two hotels more convenient for guests, Mr. Evans made an innovative addition by purchasing a 45-foot ferry and reconstructing it as an authentic Mississippi-style sternwheeler, the Bahia Belle, in 1961. Rebuilt in 1981 to increase its guest capacity, the Bahia Belle continues to shuttle between the two resorts on Mission Bay to this day. Evans Hotels is the premier provider of resort accommodations in one of the most beautiful and scenic environments in the world, Southern California. Since 1953, it has been our mission to match the superior natural beauty of this landscape with an undeniably luxurious level of service, in addition to well thought out amenities complemented by stylish interior environments. Founded in 1953 by San Diego natives and entrepreneurs William and Anne Evans, Evans Hotels began with the Bahia Resort Hotel. The Evanses were awarded the first long-term lease on Mission Bay for a 14-acre parcel of waterfront property known as Bahia Point that would eventually become the Bahia Resort Hotel. Evans Hotels began when the first 52 units of the Bahia Hotel were opened in early 1953. By 1968, the Bahia had evolved into its present size of 320 rooms, and one of Mission Bay’s most popular resorts. “It was incremental,” recalls Anne. “We were greatly in debt, but we grew like wildflowers.” Following the death of William D. Evans in 1984, Anne Evans became more active in the business and added the two oldest of her five children, Grace Evans Cherashore and William (Bill) L. Evans, to the company’s management team. Their first project, a second sternwheeler, was named the William D. Evans in honor of the pioneering spirit of the company’s founder. Custom-designed and built in San Diego, the William D. Evans was launched into Mission Bay in 1986. The beautifully crafted 99-foot ship can accommodate up to 500 passengers. Under the current management team, the company has experienced a period of remarkable growth over the past three decades. Both the Catamaran and Bahia saw extensive improvements, while a new hotel, The Lodge at Torrey Pines, was purchased in 1995. Located on City-owned land in La Jolla, one of the most picturesque resort towns on the Southern California Coast, the hotel overlooks the Pacific Ocean and is immediately adjacent to the 18th green of the Torrey Pines Golf Course (site of the 2008 U.S. Open, and announced as the site of the 2021 U.S. Open) while the Torrey Pines State Reserve, with its beaches, golden cliffs, and rare pine forests, is a short walk away. Once a small 74-room inn on land leased from the City, the Evans Family entirely reconstructed the hotel between 2000 and 2002, turning it into a 170-room luxury resort. Modeled after the Gamble and Blacker houses in Pasadena, California, two of the best examples of early 1900’s Craftsman-style architecture, The Lodge has been awarded a AAA Five-Diamond ranking every year since it reopened. Ever the pioneer, Evans Hotels considers its role in the economy of San Diego to be an important part of the region’s future. “Our hotels employ over 1,500,” says Anne Evans. “We’re proud to provide that ongoing employment base. Through the years, San Diego’s transit occupancy tax revenues have continued to grow while all other revenues atrophied. We’re proud to be part of that.” Today much of the success of the City’s tourism industry can be traced back to that mudflat in Mission Bay where two young hoteliers saw the future. Now Anne Evans, along with her adult children (Bill Evans and Grace Evans Cherashore), their spouses (Susan Evans and David L. Cherashore), and current President and Chief Executive Officer (Robert H. Gleason), continues to lead one of Southern California’s true success stories in tourism entrepreneurship and its hopes for continued success in the future. OliverMcMillan | 33 World Class Waterfront Development Opportunity
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