Tourist Council Backs Funding for Theater Conservatory
By Lisa Neff
Manatee County tourist development tax funding might be the last key needed to open the door to Sara’s Studios in Bradenton’s downtown area.
Janene Amick, CEO of the Florida Cultural Group and its Manatee Performing Arts Center, in August secured support for capital funding from the county tourist development council. The TDC’s recommendation for funding next will go to the county board of commissioners, possibly later this month.
The tourist development tax is the 6% tax collected in Manatee County on overnight accommodations on six months or less.
Elliott Falcione, executive director of the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, said it’s important “to remind the residents that if we can partner in the area of arts, culture and heritage at no cost to the residents that live here, that enhances the quality of life for the residents. … That’s a great deal.”
Amick secured TDC backing for $3 million in tourist tax dollars, including:
• $450,000 for an audio-visual-lighting partnership with the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau;
• $25,000 to stage historical theater on the Gulf Islands Ferry operating between Bradenton and Anna Maria Island;
• $25,000 for a murder-mystery series in partnership with the Florida Railroad Museum in Parrish;
• And the big-ticket item — $2.5 million for Sara’s Studios, a planned four-story, 31,000-square-foot cultural education and rehearsal facility intended to serve as a hub for performing arts education, technical training and community partnerships alongside the performing arts center in downtown Bradenton.
Bradenton Mayor Gene Brown has said Sara’s Studios will help complete the city’s Avenue of the Arts on Third Avenue West.
“When we look at what we have, within a very short walking distance,” Brown said, referring to the arts and culture amenities in the area. “Live, work and play, and visit. … And be able to do a lot of things in a little area.”
Sara’s Studios’ first floor will include five practice rooms, two rehearsal studios and a reception area, r, according to materials presented to the TDC.
The second floor will include classrooms, administrative offices for the Florida Cultural Group staff and instructors and a bridge connecting to the performing arts center.
The third floor will include a professional recording studio, as well as rehearsal rooms.
And the fourth floor will contain a 2,900-square-foot rehearsal hall, storage and office space.
The tourist development tax money would help fund the fourth floor, which was not part of the original design but was identified as critical, providing space for orchestra workshops, youth camps and more.
The space — a groundbreaking took place in August — is expected to provide resources for the Pops Orchestra of Bradenton and Sarasota, Sarasota Ballet and Sarasota Youth Opera, as well as other organizations.
Major backers include Steve and Sara Bayard, the Manatee Community Foundation, the Bradenton Kiwanis and the Bishop-Parker Foundation, which in the spring announced a $3 million grant — $1 million a year for three years — for the Sara’s Studios capital project.
“We feel good about it,” Falcione said of the project, which the tourism director said will help draw visitors, as well as encourage them to extend their stay in the area.
“Where were we at before Janene and her staff built that Manatee Performing Arts Center and where are we at today?” Falcione said. “And, with the participation of the TDC and the county board of commissioners over those years, now we have a Manatee Performing Arts Center. We have a brand-new arts center. We have an enhanced Bishop Museum. And now we’re going to have a theater conservatory that’s very unique south of St. Petersburg all the way to Naples.”
Amick said Sara’s Studios could open in January 2027.
