ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The parent company of the Tampa Bay Lightning recently made a bid to manage the Mahaffey Theater.
The venue is run by the city and will continue to be as city officials rebuffed the proposal from Vinik Sports Group. The facility previously had been managed by Big 3 Entertainment for the past 15 years. It’s contract ended earlier this year.
VSG confirmed it prepared a proposal to manage the theater after the city rejected the only bid it received, which was from the St. Petersburg Arts Partners.
The proposal asked for a five-year term and $500,000 in annual funding from the city, which is less than half what the city already pays.
The proposal also promised to prioritize the Florida Orchestra.
Vinik said the city told them they were in discussions with the orchestra to have them take over management, but so far no agreement has been reached.
The city could still issue another request for proposals though that hasn’t been done yet.