Anaheim Convention Center

Attendance Company Name 1988 75,000 Wescon (Western Electronic Show and Convention) 46,470 NEPCON (National Electronic Packaging and Production Conference) 37,351 36,104 National Computer Graphics Show 35,637 The International Trucking Show 30,000 The Score Show 28,857 California Dental 26,967 National Square Dance 25,589 American Booksellers Association 21,156 Religious Education Congress 1987 48,641 NEPCON (National Electronic Packaging and Production Conference) 34,000 The International

Villanova guard Maalik Wayns, a sturdy junior who had been averaging more than 20 points a game, squared up for three-point shots, moved through the lane as if he were invisible only to appear at the basket for layups and generally created shots from everywhere and scored a career-high 29 points Friday. Yet it was St. Louis Coach Rick Majerus who was praising his players for their great defense, in particular against Wayns. The Billikens, who had already roundly defeated Washington from the Pac-12 Conference, grabbed a no-doubt 80-68 win against the Wildcats from the Big East and advanced to the championship game of the 76 Classic at the Anaheim Convention Center.

A $12.5-million expansion of the Anaheim Convention Center that would be paid for by an increase in the city's hotel tax was proposed Tuesday by the city's convention industry. Lynn Thompson, the convention center's general manager, and William Snyder, president of the Anaheim Convention and Visitors Bureau, told the City Council that an additional 150,000-square-foot exhibit hall is necessary if the city wants to keep its largest conventions.

What: 76 Classic basketball tournament When: Thursday, beginning 11 a.m.; Friday beginning 11:30 a.m. and Sunday beginning 10:30 a.m. Where: Anaheim Convention Center First-round TV schedule: Thursday — Boston College (1-2) vs. St. Louis (3-0), 11 a.m. ESPNU; Villanova (3-0) vs. UC Riverside (1-2), 1:30 p.m., ESPN2; New Mexico (2-1) vs. Santa Clara (2-1), 6 p.m., ESPNU; Oklahoma (2-0) vs. Washington State (2-1), 8:30 p.m., ESPN2. Tickets: Single-session tickets, beginning at $20, are available at the Anaheim Convention Center box office.

Japan Expo '91, the largest annual U.S. exposition on Japanese culture and commerce, starts a four-day run today at the Anaheim Convention Center. It is the first time that the 12-year-old trade show will be held outside Los Angeles. Nagao Masuda, chairman of Gardena-based Japan Expo Inc., said he selected Anaheim because renovations at the Los Angeles Convention Center limit the space available. The show needed more exhibit space. Last year, the show attracted 280 companies and 88,000 visitors.

Business at the Anaheim Convention Center generally slows down during the summer months, but it could get worse this year because of a labor dispute. The Hotel and Restaurant Employees Local 681, which represents 150 workers who serve food and drinks to conventioneers, is threatening a boycott of the meeting facility. The union is feuding with Aramark Corp., the big managed services company that handles the convention's food services under a contract with the city of Anaheim.

Anaheim officials were searching Friday for a solution to an unexpected problem that put a proposed $50-million expansion of the city's Convention Center on temporary hold. The expansion was approved at a special meeting Thursday night of the Joint Powers Authority, made up of the City Council, the Anaheim Union High School District Board of Trustees and the Community Center Authority. The agency was created to oversee the Convention Center complex.

With the 2000 model year upon us, Southland consumers can get their first look at hundreds of new cars and trucks all under one roof next week at the fourth annual California International Auto Show. Thirty-nine manufacturers will present more than 500 passenger cars, pickups, minivans and sport-utility vehicles Wednesday through Oct. 24 at the Anaheim Convention Center.

With traffic problems straightened out, the 12th National Sports Collectors Convention rolled on Friday at the Anaheim Convention Center. Mike Berkus, business manager for the national convention, said about 20,000 were in attendance Friday. That figure, added to a crowd estimated at 25,000 to 30,000 for the first session Thursday, broke the convention's attendance record of 41,000, set at last year's convention in Arlington, Tex.

The popular, though independent Spanish-language ministry at the Crystal Cathedral, where people stand in line for hours to get a seat, may not move with the church's English-language services when the time comes. According to the terms of a $57.5-million deal approved Thursday night in Bankruptcy Court, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange will purchase the property and require Crystal Cathedral ministries to move to a new location within three years. The diocese plans to use the cathedral as its own after that; St. Callistus Catholic Church, also in Garden Grove, has been presented as an alternative site for the English-language ministries.

FRIDAY'S GAMES Boys SOUTHERN SECTION DIVISION 5A Van Nuys Montclair Prep (23-8) vs. Chatsworth Sierra Canyon (24-5), 5 p.m. at Santa Ana Mater Dei ? These two Alpha League teams split in league play, but Sierra Canyon won, 68-51, on Feb. 8 and has the physical advantage with a group of talented young players, led by sophomore guard Jahmel Taylor (21.6 points). Montclair Prep, going for its fifth section title, has to deal with Sierra Canyon's full-court press.

SATURDAY'S GAMES Boys CITY SECTION DIVISION 1 Westchester (26-6) vs. Woodland Hills Taft (26-2), 1 p.m. at the Galen Center ? From the opening day of practice, Taft has been the heavy favorite to win its third City title, but 11-time champion Westchester has ambitions of pulling off the upset. The key issue is how much Westchester has improved since losing to the Toreadors by 11 points on Dec. 4. The versatile Robert Gsellman will try to make some three-pointers for the Comets.

Boys SOUTHERN SECTION 3AA Los Angeles Price (22-6) vs. La Canada (27-3), 4:45 p.m. at Anaheim Convention Center ? Price is a heavy favorite because of players such as 6-foot-9 Norvel Pelle, 6-8 Skylar Spencer and Colorado-bound guard Askia Booker. But veteran La Canada Coach Tom Hofman is known for having one of the best passing-game offenses in high school. Dario CiVon and Michael McGlashan are 6-2 players who thrive in Hofman's scheme, averaging 15 and 17 points.

For Anaheim, the boys of summer should produce big profits in July. The usual crowds of summer tourists visiting Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure Park will swell this weekend to include thousands of baseball fans attending Major League Baseball's All-Star Game at Angel Stadium and a fan festival at the nearby Anaheim Convention Center. The annual game, part of a five-day celebration that began Friday, returned to Anaheim for the first time in 21 years. It's expected to draw 100,000 to 250,000 visitors — and an estimated $85 million in spending throughout Southern California, according to city officials and Major League Baseball.

Six thousand yards of red carpet has arrived in Anaheim, ready for the big night. Fashion consultants and makeup artists will be on hand as the celebrity guest list fills out, publicists calling to secure tickets for their A-list clients. If it sounds as if baseball's annual All-Star game — which comes to Angel Stadium on Tuesday evening — has gone Hollywood, that's no mistake. Over the last decade or so, Major League Baseball has expanded its "Midsummer Classic" from nine innings to five days that include rock concerts and a high-tech carnival, the popular home run derby and a softball game pitting former players against actors and musicians.

Big West Conference MEN First Round, Wednesday At Anaheim Convention Center No. 5 Cal State Fullerton vs. No. 8 Cal State Northridge, 6 p.m. — Northridge won last year's tournament as the top-seeded team. But without four of last season's five top scorers, it enters this year as the last-seeded team. Fullerton, the 2008 tournament champion, is led by three senior forwards — Gerard Anderson, Aaron Thompson and Jer'Vaughn Johnson — who have combined to average 33.9 points and 18.4 rebounds.

'Idol' reclaims its crown All is normal in the world again as Fox's "American Idol" beat NBC's Olympics coverage Tuesday night in the ratings race. After losing to the Olympics last Wednesday, the first time in six years that "American Idol" hadn't won its time slot, the talent show made a strong comeback. From 8 to 10 p.m., Fox averaged almost 24 million viewers, compared with 20.8 million for NBC. " 'American Idol' deserves applause. It's an absolute juggernaut that went undefeated for six years and is now 223-1; we are just happy to be the 1," said NBC Sports Senior Vice President Mike McCarley.