Starting this weekend, the parking lot of Veterans Memorial Stadium will again open up to the Long Beach Antique Market and other swap meets as the city’s COVID-19 reopening plans have expanded to allow for the operation of the outdoor events.
The antique market will resume Sunday, June 21, and the So-Cal Cycle Swap Meet will resume the following Sunday.
The parking lot, which is part of the Long Beach City College Liberal Arts Campus, has drawn hundreds of sellers for decades. However, while the lot will be open again for sellers and shoppers, the school’s two campuses will remain closed, according to a release from the college.
In accordance with the guidelines around large events like this opening the markets will be limited to 50% capacity, a school spokesperson said.
“As part of the revised City of Long Beach COVID-19 order, the operators of the Long Beach Antique Market and the So-Cal Cycle Swap Meet may resume their business on LBCC property, and they understand that they are responsible for meeting with the City’s health guidelines while they are operating on our campus,” interim Superintendent-President Lou Anne Bynum said in a statement earlier this week.
The college closed both of its campuses on March 17 after the state declared an emergency and required residents to stay at home.
Both the flea market and the cycle swap meet met monthly at Veterans Stadium prior to the pandemic, meaning that neither has been held since February.
The two events will be responsible for following local guidelines requiring social distancing and mask wearing for both shoppers and sellers who choose to participate in the upcoming weekends. They will also have to clean and sanitize the college property that they use, the release said.
While the campus will remain closed, the school’s parking structure will be available for public use on the days of the swap meets.
The college said that the operation of the events would not impact the school’s drive-through COVID-19 testing centers which operate Monday-Friday from 3 to 5 p.m. The city announced this week that testing at these sites was expanded to all Long Beach residents.