(from a longer article in the San Diego Union Tribune)
Whisking Joye Murchison Kelly (the ghost writer of Wonder Woman) and better-known stars like Ryan “Deadpool” Reynolds from their hotels to their Convention Center appearances is the job of Steve Weathers and his team.
Weathers, owner of San Diego-based SEAT Planners Inc., has contracted with Comic-Con for various services for more than three decades. This year, his company is charge of the mile-long lines stretching from the harbor to Hall H; erecting temporary concrete barriers between automotive and foot traffic; and running the shuttles between the center and hotels around town.
These tasks have grown with the convention. In 1991, the first year SEAT operated the shuttles, it logged about 16,000 passenger trips. This year, Weathers estimates his company will ferry more than 150,000 passengers.
“At the peak,” he said, “we’ll use 62 buses at any one time.”
Planning for this show occupies five SEAT employees for seven weeks, and this is just one of numerous outside contractors hired by Comic-Con. Meeting Services, Inc., provides audio-visual services; Freeman Decorating sets up the exhibition hall; Staff Pro supplies security; and the firm of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman handles legal matters.
“I’m only a cog,” Weathers said. “It’s a big wheel.”
