L.A. Invitational Meet Canceled Over Finances

The Los Angeles Invitational indoor track meet, once a premier event in a vibrant local track and field scene but more recently a relic in a bleak landscape, has been canceled next year because father-and-son promoters Al and Don Franken couldn't find sponsors, they said Friday. They estimated their losses at as much as $50,000 if the meet had been held as scheduled.

The L.A. Invitational, which made its debut in 1960 and is the second-oldest indoor meet in the U.S. after the Millrose Games, was the only remaining elite indoor meet on the West Coast. The 2004 competition was scheduled for Feb. 8 at the Sports Arena, but the Frankens said they couldn't make the numbers work and keep their losses as small as they've been in recent years.

Sunkist was the meet's title sponsor from 1970 through 1995. After its withdrawal, the Frankens kept the event alive by cobbling together a network of smaller sponsors and persuading the Sports Arena to reduce its rent.

By the Frankens' count, 105 Olympic gold medalists have competed in the L.A. Invitational. However, in recent years most elite athletes have turned to Europe, where they can earn appearance fees of $25,000 or more. In addition, USA Track and Field's Golden Spike tour has conflicted with the L.A. Invitational.

"It's a sad day, to be quite frank," said USC track Coach Ron Allice, who has sent athletes and teams to the meet for years. "It's been an institution in Los Angeles in the sport of track and field. Al Franken has done so much for track and field and has been so supportive of us all, long before I was at USC.

"In the mid-'60s, before women were getting athletic scholarships, they were running in clubs and Al was giving women opportunities to compete. This has been a passion and a love of his. It isn't good news."

Indoor track and field also flourished at the Forum, in San Diego and in the Bay Area. However, those competitions vanished as sponsors departed or directed money to other sports. The Frankens temporarily revived the indoor meet in San Diego in 1999 and 2000. Another group organized an indoor meet at Staples Center in 2001, but that meet was canceled because of a dispute over sponsorship funds and low ticket sales.

"We just made a decision we'd rather wait a year and see if we can stage the meet the way it should be done," said Don Franken, who hopes to revive it in 2005, perhaps as a charity event. "It's hard to go from having a title sponsor for 26 years to piecing things together. You need a title sponsor to make these things work. We could have just done the high school meet, but people won't pay $23 and $10 to see high school athletes....