Riverfront Performing Arts Center Needs Just $1.5 Million to Become Reality

The Manatee Players promised Tuesday that their new Performing Arts Center will be open in just 12 months after they figured they are less than $1.5 million away from their $15 million fundrasing goal.

The final stage of fundraising began Tuesday with a huge boost: $250,000 from the Kiwanis Club of Bradenton and another $1.5 million from the Manatee Community Foundation in a grant/loan combination. In addition the Community Foundation members put together another $100,000 to be used as matching grant money during the Manatee Players 36 Hour Giving Challenge on March 27 and 28.

The Giving Challenge will take place online through the Giving Partner, a tool that helps share information about local charities. Using that tool during the 36-hour challenge, donors can contribute any amount and it will be matched dollar for dollar. For example a $1,000 donation will receive a $1,000 match from the Patterson Foundation. And with the extra money from the Manatee Community Foundation, that $2,000 will become a $4,000 gift.

More than 100 charities will be raising money through the 36-hour Giving Challenge at the Giving Partner, and all of those charities are eligible for a total of $500,000 in matching money through the Patterson Foundation and the Gulf Coast Community Foundation. The extra $100,000 is designed to give a boost to the Manatee Players Performing Arts Center.

Once the fundraising challenge is complete, the board for the Manatee Players expect to begin the final interior construction next month. The Performing Arts Center, a centerpiece to the new Riverwalk Park, is already nearly two-thirds complete. With Tuesday's announcement, The Manatee Players have 90 percent of its $15 million fundraising goal in hand.

The popular performing arts groups has a $1 million annual budget for its productions with nearly 90 percent of the budget coming from ticket sales, according to the Manatee Players. In that vein the Manatee Players are also offering 100 lifetime subscriptions for $5,000 each.

On Tuesday, Mayor Wayne Poston called the Performing Arts Center a public-private partnership that is helping to revitalize downtown Bradenton's waterfront. Poston said having the theater open in a year will position the city to move ahead "when the good times return."

Poston also said the planning and fundraising that continued through the economic downturn shows that Bradenton is a forward-thinking community.

Anthony Pizzo Jr., president of the Manatee Players Inc., promised that by this time next year the Manatee Players will launch their first show in the new Performing Arts Cetner. And Rick Kirby, the theater's artistic director, is planning on "Miss Saigon" as the opener for the Performing Arts Center. He said he wants to launch "a big show for such a big event."

While the performing arts center will allow the Manatee Players to put on more ambitious shows, because the theater will offer so much more room on stage, in the orchestra pit and in the audience, the new center will not be limited to productions by the Manatee Players. It will also be used as a community center for big fundraising events. Other performing arts, such as films screenings and concerts will also take place at the performing arts center.

The Kiwanis Club of Bradenton decided to give because they Performing Arts Center is a versatile centerpiece to the city offering both community and cultural opportunities. Branda Rogers, president of the Kiwanis Club of Bradenton, said that the organiztion pulled together its $250,000 donation from its two-year budget. Rogers said the organization, which had already donated $100,000 in 2007, decided it wanted to be a part of the final push of fundraising because the performing arts center has such an emotional impact, as well as an economic and social impact on the community.