2019 Mar 20 - CC MIN SPCSPECIAL JOINT MEETING OF THE EL SEGUNDO CITY COUNCIL
AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COUNCIL
March 20th, 2019 Meeting Minutes
CALL TO ORDER
Chair Al Keahi called to order the Joint Meeting of the City of EI Segundo City Council and
Economic Development Advisory Council at 4:42PM on Wednesday March 20th, 2019 at AT&T
2260 E. Imperial Highway, EI Segundo, CA 90245.
ROLL CALL
The following EI Segundo City Council members were present:
• Carol Pirsztuk
• Dr. Don Brann
• Scot Nicol
The following EI Segundo City Council members were not present:
• Mayor Drew Boyles
• Chris Pimentel
The following EI Segundo City Staff were present:
• Greg Carpenter, City Manger
• Barbara Voss, Economic Development Manager
The following Economic Development Advisory Council members were present:
• Al Keahi
• Gary Horwitz
• Alex Abad
• Michael Mothner
• Lily Craig
• Tim Harris
• Jim McCaulley
• Lance Giroux
• Vandad Espahbodi
• Corinne Murat
• Richard Lundquist
• Matthew Tompkins
The following Economic Development Advisory Council members were absent:
• Spencer Bauer • Bob Healey
• Rob Croxall • Rick Yuse
• Shar Franklin • Lance Ralls
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Alex Abad motioned to approve the minutes of the February 20th, 2019 meeting. Matthew
Tompkins seconded, unanimous approval.
Presentations
T. Harris introduced the Los Angeles Lakers 2K League team and presented a brief overview of
the NBA 2K Draft process for esports.
• T. Harris shared his experience watching the 2K League Draft online.
oSimilar to the NBA Draft, the 2K draft has professional analysts and commentators
and draft picks are called by name to walk up the stage to shake hands with the
NBA 2K commissioner and participate in media interviews,
• Out of 1 million players worldwide, only 126 players are selected to join one of the 21
teams.
Mitchell Holder, VP Marketing at Los Angeles Lakers presented highlights and trends for esports.
• M. Holder noted that since 2012 esports has tripled in audience and viewership.
• M. Holder noted that in 2019 the esports industry reached over $1 billion in revenue
and over $1.7 billion is projected by 2022.
• The highest -grossing revenue stream is sponsorship and advertising.
• While the majority of egames are viewed online, the league is looking to expand and
host games in the West Coast.
M. Makovec, Lakers Gaming general manager and head coach, presented an overview of the
Lakers Gaming Franchise
• Lakers Gaming team established in 2019.
• The primary logo is a gold star constructed out of an "LA" ligature. The secondary logo
is reminiscent of the classic purple and gold Lakers wordmark and speed lines.
• Players are provided with salary, medical insurance, and housing in EI Segundo.
• EDAC members pointed out the lack of female gamers in esports.
• M. Makovec responded that there are females involved in the sport, but in egaming
the gender is unknown until the player appears in person.
• B.Voss inquired about key opportunities for economic development in esports.
• M. Makovec suggested event engagement and partnerships as opportunities for the
city's economic development.
• While esports are usually hosted in New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas are being
considered as potential locations for future events.
Tim Vanneman, Lakers corporate partnerships coordinator, presented information for
sponsorship opportunities and engagement
• Sponsors can display brand logos on both the gamer and the gamer's avatar uniforms.
• Virtual courts and arenas provide additional exposure for advertising.
M. Thompkins presented an overview on the local space industry attraction and growth strategies:
• New Space Development Agency (SDA) coming to EI Segundo in 2020. SDA focuses
on proliferated Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites and it's expected to be a valuable
addition to the Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC).
• M. Thompkins provided suggestions as to how the city can engage and partner with
the aerospace community, such as attending conferences and providing access and
awareness for the space community to access local government.
The Public Relations Update presentation deferred to the April 17'h, 2019 EDAC meeting.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 6:18PM.