Konocti Harbor is a resort

Resort

A resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation, attracting visitors for holidays or vacations. Resorts are places, towns or sometimes commercial establishment operated by a single company....

 and music venue

Music venue

A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. Typically, different types of venues host different genres of music...

 in Kelseyville, California

Kelseyville, California

Kelseyville is a census-designated place in Lake County, California, United States. Kelseyville is located southeast of Lakeport, at an elevation of 1384 feet...

. It is situated at the base of Mount Konocti

Mount Konocti

Mount Konocti is a volcano in Lake County, California on the south shore of Clear Lake. At , it is the second highest peak in the Clear Lake Volcanic Field, which consists of numerous volcanic domes and cones ranging from 10,000 to 2.1 million years old....

 on the south shore of Clear Lake, the largest freshwater lake interior to California. Its amenities include a spa, a miniature golf

Miniature golf

Miniature golf, or minigolf, is a miniature version of the sport of golf. While the international sports organization World Minigolf Sport Federation prefers to use the name "minigolf", the general public in different countries has also many other names for the game: miniature golf, mini-golf,...

 course, a marina, and two Olympic-size swimming pools.

History

The resort was founded in 1959 by Joseph Mazzola, president of United Association

United Association

The United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing, Pipefitting and Sprinkler Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada, commonly known as the United Association is a trade union of journeymen and apprentices of the plumbing, pipefitting, and sprinkler fitting industry of...

 Local 38, a union

Trade union

A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...

 of Northern California

Northern California

Northern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...

 plumber

Plumber

A plumber is a tradesperson who specializes in installing and maintaining systems used for potable water, sewage, and drainage in plumbing systems. The term dates from ancient times, and is related to the Latin word for lead, "plumbum." A person engaged in fixing metaphorical "leaks" may also be...

s. The intention behind the formation of the resort was to provide low-cost vacation housing for union members.

In 1982, a federal judge took control of the pension fund of the union, which owned Konocti Harbor, over allegations of financial improprieties involving the resort; in 2004, the U.S. Department of Labor again sued the union, alleging that $36 million of pension funds had been improperly diverted to the resort. Mazzola died in 1989, in a car crash near the resort, but the Mazzola family continues to own much of the land surrounding the resort.

Renovation

In 1990, Greg Bennett was hired as the general manager of Konocti Harbor. He renovated the resort and turned it into a concert venue. Bennett eventually expanded his concert hall, the Joe Mazzola Showroom, from 350 seats to 1000; Performance Magazine called it "the best small concert venue in the country". As the resort's concert business expanded, Bennett also added outdoor concerts in a 5000-seat converted softball field.

Closure

Konocti Harbor became one of the biggest employers in Lake County

Lake County, California

Lake County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of California, north of the San Francisco Bay Area. It takes its name from Clear Lake, the dominant geographic feature in the county and the largest natural lake wholly within California...

, employing up to 700 workers, but as of 2007 it was unprofitable, and the Lake County supervisors denied a request to convert it into a casino. Its owners attempted to sell it, but were unsuccessful. In late 2009 WhiteStar Advisors, the management company that had been hired by the court, announced that Konocti Harbor would be shut down "temporarily but indefinitely". The closure seriously damaged the local tourist economy

Tourism

Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...

, already hard-hit by the global economic downturn.