WonderCon Moving to Los Angeles in 2016
This last weekend was the last time WonderCon will be held in Anaheim CA. We had the opportunity to attend the 2015 event, and it was a really fun year, even if nothing spectacular or huge was revealed. All the good stuff is basically saved for San Diego Comic-Con anyway.
Comic-Con International has announced that next year the WonderCon event will be held in Los Angeles at the L.A. Convention Center. This brings an end to the convention's four-year stay in Anaheim. I’ve actually enjoyed attending the event in Anaheim, and I’m kind of sad to see it relocate, especially since I absolutely hate going to downtown L.A. It makes sense for them to move, though. The reason for the move is that Anaheim doesn’t have enough available space on the dates they want to have the con. WonderCon was founded in 1987, and this is the third time that it has been moved. It previously lived in Oakland and San Francisco.
Mayor Eric Garcetti said in a statement,
“Los Angeles is honored to have been selected as the destination for WonderCon 2016. We look forward to establishing a long-term partnership with Comic-Con International, the presenter, and helping them establish a home-base in L.A. We anticipate the show to be highly attended and to set the precedent for future successful Comic-Con events in L.A.”
Los Angeles has also been trying to get Comic-Con International to bring their flagship event to their convention center for years, and apparently they are still in the running for that. With the rate that Comic-Con attendance is growing in San Diego, they will most likely move to another venue in the near future.
I would really hate to see Comic-Con leave San Diego, but it looks like it has outgrown the small city. With WonderCon landing in L.A. there might be a good chance that Comic-Con will as well, especially with most of the movie studios and talent in the area. Other cities that have been in the running have included Anaheim and Las Vegas.