According to the RFP, any would-be lessor must agree to rehab portion of the historic structure, pay an annual rent of no less than $500,000 and share revenue with the city. Interested organizations include Another Planet Entertainment, Anschutz Entertainment Group, Bill Graham Presents, Global Spectrum, Hammel, Green & Abrahamson Inc., Integrated Marketing Systems, Kate Keating Associates Inc., McCall Associates, Nederlander, Paul Roberts and Partners Architects, Ripley Scoggin LLP, SMG, and Southwest Basketball LLC.

John Noguchi, director of the city's convention facilities department tells GlobeSt.com that several additional interested parties attended this week's pre-submittal conference. Their names will be added to the Web site next week, he says.

The 31,000-sf main arena is the largest single space, with 40-foot ceilings and balcony access on the second and fourth floors. The arena holds 3,000 people theater style, 1,770 people classroom-style and 1,520 people banquet-style. The entire balcony seats 4,000 people; concert capacity is 7,000. Ancillary spaces include the twin 7,047-sf Polk and Larkin Halls, which flank the arena and have 20-foot ceilings; another 36 meeting rooms offer 22,000 square feet of meeting space on the third and fourth floors.

Past events include concerts, blue-chip product launches, theatrical events, national conventions, and gala dinners. May 5 is the deadline for operator proposals. A city review panel will make recommendations to the city administrator by the end of June. The actual contract award will require approval from the city's board of supervisors, says Noguchi.