Vote to guard the Mahaffey Theater

Again in 1987, my household put our identify on the now Duke Power Heart for the Arts — Mahaffey Theater, a venue previously often known as the Bayfront Heart Auditorium. Because of our love for the humanities and for a neighborhood that we envisioned had greatness in its future, we invested in an concept that we believed strongly would succeed and enhance everybody’s high quality of life in St. Petersburg.

The theater had been managed for years by town of St. Petersburg after which ultimately can be managed for 5 years by SMG, a nationwide venue operator. They weren’t a lot promoters of the humanities as they have been “managers of the constructing.” Their 5 years got here and went shortly and the subsidy required to assist them grew to become burdensome to town of St. Petersburg.

The venue was in determined want of somebody who may suppose exterior of the field and who would take a private curiosity within the venue and make investments their very own cash to get the venue on the map.

In 2011, Invoice Edwards and Big3 Leisure have been awarded a five-year administration contract to take over the day-to-day operations. Edwards invested near $4 million within the first few years to provide the venue a shot within the arm and incorporate some much-needed upgrades. He renovated the foyer house with new bars, new carpet and a brand-new VIP Lounge. He additionally overhauled the backstage space, making it a five-star expertise for artists.

In his first weekend working the venue in November of 2011, he introduced in Marc Anthony, Cedric the Entertainer, and capped it off with Don Henley. The record of top-notch artists goes on and on.

Quick ahead to 2021. Edwards and his administration group have been awarded a 3rd five-year administration contract as a result of many successes that they had achieved within the first 10 years. Edwards and his group have saved town hundreds of thousands of {dollars} in subsidies, have pushed hundreds of thousands of individuals into downtown St. Petersburg, and have supplied instructional programming for over 250,000 faculty kids via the Class Acts Instructional Efficiency Collection.

As a board member and supporter of the Mahaffey Theater, I urge the folks and the voters of St. Petersburg to remember the fact that the referendum involving the growth of the close by Dali Museum, if accepted, has the potential to compromise what we have now been constructing because the Eighties. It took a few years to get so far. My household and I knew that the theater had this sort of potential means again then and at all times believed that it could at some point be a shining star in St. Petersburg. Invoice Edwards grew the annual visitation from 98,000 to 250,000.

Growth of town and additional enhancing performing arts choices is why our household obtained concerned again in 1987. And we aren’t against additional growth of the Heart for the Arts. We additionally supported the Dali’s authentic capital marketing campaign. However we ask the voters and town of St. Petersburg to do no matter it takes to guard an asset that’s nonetheless vibrant at present due to some beneficiant those who took leaps of religion and invested personal cash into this enterprise, guaranteeing its success for everybody to get pleasure from.

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Vote no on this referendum till we are able to all come to a unanimous, wise conclusion.

Mark Mahaffey is chairman of the board and associate of Mahaffey Firm in St. Petersburg, along with being very lively within the St. Petersburg neighborhood together with The Mahaffey Theater.