The 8,500-seat Pacific Amphitheatre will be reopened for the 2003 Orange County Fair concert series.

Currently undergoing up to $500,000 in repairs and refurbishing to bring the stage and the seats back to serviceable condition, the amphitheatre, which has been closed since 1995, will become the site of the Fair's top-flight entertainment offerings. Currently, there are no plans to open the amphitheatre except during Fairtime.

As centerpiece of an expanded entertainment program, the reopened amphitheatre will be host on all 21 nights of the Fair concerts by the top acts in popular music, Deputy General Manager Steve Beazley said. All seats in the venue will be reserved, he said, requiring an additional paid admission. He said that reserved seat prices would be scaled so that the Fair breaks even.

The entertainment lineup for the amphitheatre will be announced in early spring, along with prices and dates for buying reserved seat tickets.

During its grand reopening, the amphitheatre will host one show a night. For more than ten years, the amphitheatre was a favorite concert venue in Southern California. After opening in 1983, the amphitheatre attracted such all-star acts as Bette Midler; Barry Manilow; Bob Dylan; Crosby, Stills & Nash; Eric Clapton; Al Jarreau; Madonna; Aerosmith; Guns N' Roses; Kiss; Liza Minnelli; Michael Bolton; Frank Sinatra; and Gloria Estefan.

The amphitheatre closed in 1995 due to litigation between the Fair and the amphitheatre's previous owner, the Nederlander Organization.

Fair Folks

Dan Gaines, 43, has been appointed Orange County Fair box office manager. Dan will oversee ticket sales for the annual Orange County Fair, Pacific Amphitheater concerts series, and select events and shows throughout the year.

A resident of Irvine, Dan previously has been box office manager at the Irvine Barclay Theater, the Sun Theater, the Coors Amphitheater in Chula Vista, and the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre. He also was assistant box office manager at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles.