Tuesday, December 3, 2002 The Queen Mary over the years   By Felix Sanchez, Staff writer More than the ravages of the sea, some of the biggest buffets against the stately Queen Mary have come from those living in the city the ocean liner has called home for 35 years. "The Queen Mary has taken a few knocks over the years,' said Joseph Prevratil, president and CEO of Queen's Seaport Development Inc., the company that runs the Queen Mary. "But I believe in it.' And even more than that, Prevratil said that he has faith that ongoing projects and plans for development of the downtown waterfront, especially land immediately adjacent to the Queen Mary site, will boost the prestige of the ship's hotel as a destination and visitor attraction. Since 1967, the Queen Mary's three huge funnels have dominated Long Beach Harbor, and the ocean liner has become the city's definitive icon. This week, the Queen Mary will celebrate its 35th anniversary in the city with a two-day event, including a flotilla tribute, re-enacting its arrival in Long Beach when an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 boats greeted the luxury passenger ship. While it's now an enduring symbol of the city, Prevratil concedes there are some who have wondered about the Queen Mary and its value as a tourist attraction. Or certainly as a recurring visitor destination. "I think the biggest hurdle to overcome, quite frankly, are people who say, 'I went to the Queen Mary 10 years ago and I saw it. What reason is there for me to go back again?'' Prevratil said. There has been an evolution in the Queen Mary, Prevratil said. The ship has a core business in catering food and beverage that will remain and grow. Its Queen Mary Ghosts & Legends show and tour, while not everybody's cup of tea, have proved to be popular with the young crowd who don't find the World War II-era history of the Queen Mary attractive enough to be lured in. Its New Year's Eve- and Halloween-themed events are among the hottest tickets around. The Queen Mary has an economic impact of $10 million a year, its operators say. But it still faces its biggest obstacle: aging. The Queen Mary first set sail in 1936 and was one of the world's largest ocean liners at the time. During World War II the Queen Mary was converted into a troop carrier and then back into commercial service afterward. The era of transatlantic ocean carriers ended, however, and the Queen Mary was sold to Long Beach in 1967. "It is over 65 years old. The biggest single thing we have to do as time goes on are maintenance and capital improvements,' Prevratil said. The current operators have put more than $10 million in improvements into the ship, including work on the teak decks, restaurants, hotel rooms and meeting venues. The city of Long Beach earlier this month OK'd rent credits for Queen Mary capital improvements, including work related to a new Carnival Cruise Lines terminal adjacent to the ship key actions for the future of the Queen Mary and the city, Prevratil said. The Long Beach City Council amended the Queen Mary's 66- year lease to operate the Queen Mary so that the rent credits could be approved. The credits cannot exceed the cost of rent itself. The Queen Mary's operator pays the city $25,000 a month in rent, and up to 5 percent of its gross revenue each year last year that totaled $1.3 million. But the company received $677,514 in rent credits. With the new lease changes, the city is also acquiring more oversight over the finances of Queen's Seaport it will be required to file quarterly financial statements instead of the previous once-a-year financial report. The city will be able to take into account its own fiscal condition before approving rent credits, and it will have the right to approve any successor to Prevratil should he leave his post. And before it can apply for rent credits on other capital projects, the Queen Mary operator will have to submit a five-year plan detailing the types of projects it plans to perform. "It is important to us,' Prevratil said. For the business to move forward, there are needed capital improvements. In the end it will provide an improved asset for the city. And Prevratil acknowledged that with Long Beach under a severe budget crunch, it made better business sense to seek the capital improvement rent credits. "This is a win-win for everybody. It continues to improve the asset, and it gives the city some say-so with regard to what's doing with the Queen Mary. That is a very positive thing,' Prevratil said. Carnival arrival As part of preparations for the Carnival Cruise Lines arrival, the Queen Mary will have new ticketing booths and other related improvements. Carnival passengers will receive their boarding passes on the Queen Mary before going to their cruise ship. The thinking is this will generate foot traffic aboard the ship. The Carnival Cruise Lines terminal two levels totaling 50,000 inside the former Spruce Goose dome will bring an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 passengers annually to Long Beach. The facility, about 7.8 acres, will also have a 1,250-vehicle parking structure. The city helped issue a $35 million bond for Carnival to aid in construction costs. Prevratil preaches patience when talking about the development going on along Long Beach's harbor front, including the much-maligned Queensway Bay-now-Pike at Rainbow Harbor project. "It takes time for a development to develop. When the Long Beach aquarium opened it was presumed there would be development around it,' Prevratil said. "It's now happening after several years. As long as we have a coordinated plan to it all, it just takes time.' "There is a prevailing mood now that enough money has gone to downtown development and more now needs to go to the neighborhoods,' Prevratil said. "It's important to realize that without an economic generator to move things forward, a city would stagnate. It's important to maintain a balance between neighborhoods and the city and the business community.' The way to do that is through open communication between all the sectors, to build trust so that everyone can work together and move forward, Prevratil said.