Editorial: Clear Channel or bust?

Wednesday, July 21, 2004 | 8:39 a.m.

In the newspaper comic strip Spider-Man, the star always knows when potential trouble lurks. "My spider sense is tingling," he says. In our case, it's our news sense, and it's tingling over Las Vegas' centennial celebration set for next year. The Las Vegas Centennial Celebration Executive Committee this week voted in favor of drawing up a new contract with Clear Channel Entertainment. This is the national company that defaulted on its original contract, signed in October, which set a June 30 deadline for having at least four sponsors on board. The deadline came and went and no centennial sponsors had been found. The way this centennial is being planned, sponsors paying for marketing and advertising rights will foot the bill for the centennial's events spanning all of 2005. No sponsors, no celebration.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman is concerned about Clear Channel, as is Councilman Gary Reese. The mayor warned the committee before it gave tentative approval to a new contract that there is no backup plan if Clear Channel defaults again. And Reese asked, "If Clear Channel does not come through ... what's going to happen to our centennial celebration?" The committee is scheduled to make a final decision about Clear Channel Aug. 9. In our view, the committee should give serious thought to what most communities do for their celebrations, which is to work through the chamber of commerce in soliciting donations from local businesses and in planning the events. At the least, this should be an ongoing backup plan. It's our celebration. It should be in our hands.