Located in the heart of beautiful downtown St. Petersburg, the Mahaffey Theater is a 2,031-seat performing arts hall, featuring elegant ballroom space, spectacular waterfront views, and European box-style seating. In addition to the main Theater, the Mahaffey Theater building also houses the Grand Ballroom, a 3,500 square foot banquet room, the VIP Lounge, which is a more intimate venue and Sonata Restaurant & Lounge, offering coastal cuisine for pre-performance dining. The Mahaffey Theater is easily accessed from Interstate 275 and the I-175 ramp and is situated at the southern end of the City's downtown waterfront park system. The Theater was originally built in 1965 and was extensively renovated in 1987. In 2005, the Theater underwent a $20 million dollar renovation, more than doubling the Theater's lobby size and adding desirable guest amenities that were impossible to accommodate in the previous space. The following year, the City of St Petersburg and Progress Energy (now Duke Energy) announced a 20-year partnership to rename the facility Progress Energy Center for the Arts (PECA). The Center features visual and performing arts and includes not only the Mahaffey Theater, but also the Salvador Dali Museum and the Center for the Arts Plaza. The Theater is also adjacent to Albert Whitted Park, an aviation-themed family waterfront park, the Albert Whitted Airport, a nationally recognized executive airport, and Al Lang Stadium, home to the USL's Tampa Bay Rowdies, The Duke Energy Center for the Arts (DECA) is at the center of the annual Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg's race circuit. The acoustics of the Mahaffey Theater are tuned to the requirements of symphonic and other acoustic music and are considered excellent. The proscenium width is adjustable from 44 feet to 60 feet and proscenium height is fixed at 27 feet 3 inches. The stage is approximately 60 feet wide x 40 feet deep, with a stage right wing space of 45 feet x 15 feet x 20 feet high. The clearance from the stage floor to the underside of the grid is 64 feet 8 inches. The hall has nine (9) dressing rooms, with a total of 62 mirror/make-up stations. In addition to the dressing rooms, there is also a green room and laundry/wardrobe room located backstage. The current number of parking spaces available at the Mahaffey Theater is 1,106. Two (2) large surface lots provide 274 spaces, as well as a three-story parking garage with 727 spaces provide the bulk of parking for theater patrons. Additional lots provide 105 spaces for cast, crew and employees, as well as overflow parking. Other adjacent parking lots are currently available for use; however future redevelopment plans may eliminate all or part of these additional parking lots. In addition, there are several downtown parking garages within a few blocks of the Center. The City is working on a Visioning Plan for the area (Center for the Arts Plan - "Exhibit A") which includes the Florida Orchestra's Center for Music Education and Innovation and plans to embark on a significant refurbishment of the theater in the next five (5) years. Capital Improvement projects are ongoing, including replacement of the orchestra pit lift system (complete), replacement of the lobby lighting dimmer system (complete), replacement of the clear-com system (underway), elevator modernization (underway), air handler upgrades (underway), roof repair and replacement (underway), and more. The Mahaffey Theater is marketed as a local and regional performing arts hall, offering a wide variety of programming. The Mahaffey hosts top-quality national and international artists and performances including classical, pop, rock, comedy, dance, and family entertainment. The Theater's major tenants include The Florida Orchestra (Orchestra) and the Class Acts Program (Education Outreach). The Orchestra currently programs a full array of Masterworks, Pops and youth events, including a daytime series for seniors and student concerts. Class Acts, an arts education and extension program, that was originally sponsored by the City and is currently funded through the Bill Edwards Foundation for the Arts is attended by over 30,000 students annually. The highly successful program enables school children to experience the performing arts through in-theater performances, as well as in-school programs such as master classes and cultural assemblies. The Theater proper hosts over 200 performances annually. The Theater also hosts many special events and private parties on a rental basis in its other venues. The Mahaffey Theater is currently operated and managed by Big 3 Entertainment, LLC, under a five-year operating agreement which expires on September 30, 2026. Big 3 Entertainment was selected to manage the facility through a national RFP process and assumed this responsibility in September 2011. In the City's organization, The DECA, including the Mahaffey Theater, is a responsibility of the City Development Administration, and is directly administered by the Enterprise Facilities Department. This Department also administers the Coliseum, Sunken Gardens, The St. Pete Pier, the St. Petersburg Municipal Marina, Port St. Pete, Albert Whitted Airport, Al Lang Stadium, and Tropicana Field. A separate 501(C)3 non-profit corporation, the Bill Edwards Foundation of Arts, raises funds for the Mahaffey Theater, primarily for its Class Acts program. Adjacent to the Mahaffey Theater is the site of the Salvador Dali Museum. The Dali Museum is an internationally recognized attraction and currently attracts over 300,000 visitors per year. Located in the large open space between the Mahaffey Theater and the Dali Museum is the Center for the Arts Plaza (Plaza). The Plaza is designed to be an urban landscape with terraces that gently slope toward the shores of Tampa Bay offering a variety of experiences, from relaxing picnics beneath shade trees, to small intimate gatherings or larger outdoor events. It is also available on a rental basis for private events such as weddings, family reunions, etc. The Plaza is operated and managed by the Mahaffey Theater. Although the Dali Museum is part of the Duke Energy Center for the Arts, it is privately managed and operated. The Mahaffey Theater was the only 2000-seat performing arts hall in the market when it opened in the mid 1960's. The Tampa Bay region is now also served by Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater (approximately 2,200 seats), and the Straz Center, in Tampa, which contains four halls (approximately 2,600, 1,000, 300 & 130 seats respectively). The City of St. Petersburg is the 5th largest City in Florida with a population of approximately 261,000 and a median age of 43.1 years. It is the occasional home to more than 4.7 million overnight visitors each year and has experienced a steady growth rate over the years. St. Petersburg has a vibrant downtown area that has achieved tremendous revitalization over the past 25 years including construction and renovations of office, retail, and residential properties. It is host to numerous sporting events each year and has had expansions in cultural attractions, educational institutions, medical centers and airport facilities (see Appendix A, Recent Projects in Downtown St. Petersburg for additional details).
