Behind the Scenes is a bi-annual newsletter published by FFMA. Some of the topics discussed in Behind the Scenes include: News from Florida facilities, legislative updates, FFMA committee updates, employees "on-the-move", job postings, and sponsor spotlights.

Archived newsletters:
Jan 2004, Dec 2004, Feb 2005, May 2005, Nov 2005, Mar 2006, June 2006, Oct 2006
Mar 2007, June 2007, Dec 2007.

President's Corner

A long time ago I learned that if you want to be successful surround yourself with great people and I am extremely fortunate to have an outstanding staff here at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. I also feel very blessed to have such a strong and dedicated group of FFMA board members and committee chairs as well as the support from our Lobbyist Wayne Malaney, Esq. and Executive Director Cherie Worley.

Approaching my presidency this year I thought we would be doing great just to keep pace with all that Mary Bensel achieved during her two year term as president! After almost a year, though, I am delighted to report that we have accomplished a lot. Our Operations Seminar at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center under the leadership of Judy Joseph was a huge success with a record attendance. And, plans are already in the making for our 2006 Operations Seminar that will be at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater.

FFMA's membership has reached an all time high and we have enhanced our fiscal accountability and reporting structure thanks to the hard work and efforts of Cherie and Secretary/Treasurer Mickey Farrell. Scholarship Committee members and their Chair Mark Striffler, have revamped FFMA’s scholarship information and forms to make them more uniform. We continue to enhance and utilize our Web site and have posted minutes of
conference calls to enable our members to keep abreast of association business. Student internship information is being developed by Web master Eric Staufer to allow our members to post student internship opportunities, which will be accessible to students interested in the public assembly facility management profession.

Chair of the Disaster and Hurricane Task Force (DHTF) Rose Rundle along with Rick Hamilton, FFMA Vice Chair, are both serving on the International Association of Assembly Managers’ (IAAM) Shelter Task Force. This synergy with IAAM will prove to be most beneficial to us as the DHTF works through its charge.

Rick has also been very busy working on an excellent program for our annual meeting that is scheduled for June 18th-20th at the beautiful Four Seasons Resort in Palm Beach….a must to attend! Kenneth Feld, Chairman and CEO of FELD Entertainment will be our keynote speaker on Tuesday morning. Having worked in all aspects of production since joining the company Kenneth was primed well to pick up where his father, Irvin, left off. After Irvin’s death in 1984 Kenneth not only honored his legacy he went on to expand it, glorify and perfect it in the entrepreneurial tradition that Irvin had started. Kenneth will share with us his perspective on the state of the industry and its future.

Wayne and our Lobbyist Liaison Ron Spencer have been diligently working to get
our sunset tax initiatives passed by the state legislature for another three years.
This has been a major undertaking and we are hopeful it will be a successful one.

Although we may be competitive for events in Florida we can all be proud of our proactive, engaging and unified membership along with a hard working, talented Board of Directors. We have come a long way since that informal meeting in 1985 when a dozen or so arena managers got together in Amelia Island……let’s keep up the momentum!

I couldn’t close without extending special thanks to Mickey’s Administrative Assistant
Carolyn Dekilder, who has done a great job with our newsletter. Also, to my
Administrative Assistant Mary Fleming, who has done an awesome job on my behalf.

I look forward to seeing you at the Four Seasons in June.

Lionel J. Dubay,
FFMA President and
Director, Stephen C. O’Connell Center/University of Florida

FFMA Annual Meeting Update

The FFMA Annual Meeting will be held at the Four Seasons Resort in Palm Beach from June 18 to June 20, 2006. The FFMA Conference rate is $149.50/night (single or double). The deadline for reservations is Tuesday, May 16th, 2006. More detailed information will be forthcoming as final plans develop. Please check out our website at floridafacilities.com to get the latest update.

The Early Bird registration date is Monday, May 1st, 2006.
Rates for early registration are:

• $175 Members only (Monday golf included)
• $100 Spouse/Other (plus $65 for golf)
• $225 Non-member (plus $65 for golf)

More detailed information and registration forms are posted on our
website at floridafacilities.com.

We look forward to seeing all of our members, sponsors and guests!

FFMA Ops Seminar

The FFMA Operations Seminar will be held on Wednesday, September 13, 2006 at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, Florida. Details and registration forms will be forthcoming.
Jeffrey Hartzog, Director of Operations at Ruth Eckerd Hall is the contact person for the seminar and he can be reached at 727-712-2710 or jhartzog@ruthechkerdhall.net.

Scholarship Information:

The FFMA Scholarship Committee announces the availability of its 2006 scholarships. We will be awarding one scholarship for each of the following categories:

• FFMA Annual Meeting - $500 plus waived registration fee, application deadline April 15. The Annual Meeting will be held in Palm Beach June 18-20, 2006.
• College Scholarship - $500, application deadline April 15.
• IAAM/UVMC Annual Conference Scholarship - $500, application deadline April 15. The Annual Conference will be held in San Antonio, Texas August 4-8, 2006.

The Scholarship Committee will also be awarding up to six scholarships to attend the FFMA Operations Seminar. Application deadline is 20 days prior to the Seminar, which is tentatively set for September 13, 2006 at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, Florida. Scholarships are up to $75 each, plus waived registration fee. We hope that you will share this information with your students and encourage them to go to our website at
www.floridafacilities.com to secure detailed information and print application forms for these scholarships.

Please submit completed applications to:
Mark Striffler, Scholarship Committee Chair
T 211 Union Florida State
University Tallahassee, FL 32306-4026

For additional information, please feel free to contact
Education is for improving any member of the Scholarship Committee:

Legislative Updates from FFMA Lobbyist, Wayne Malaney, Esq.

During the third week of session, Sen. Bennett's SB 1168 on ticket resales (scalping) passed it's second of three committees of reference. The House companion bill, HB 6003, has received two additional references. I had a meeting set with Rep. Stargel, the main House sponsor, last week to discuss some options that have been rejected by the eBay and StubHub lobbyists, but there’s been no word yet from TM. Rep. Stargel had to rescheduled two times, and the meeting has been pushed back to the 4th week of session. The board has consistently opposed the language contained in these bills, after originally supporting a much more restrictive and controlled bill filed by Rep. Laurent, which was limited to professional sporting events and resale of season tickets by season ticket holders.

On the tax exemption bill, HB 421 and SB 952, by Rep. Reagan and Sen. Margolis, I met
with the policy adviser in the Sen. President's Office at the end of the 3rd week and
with Sen. Atwater the middle of the 4th week. SB 952 is supposed to be heard during the 5th week of session. The Senate hearing will be the 2nd of three. There is a ossibility that it could be withdrawn from the third committee. On the HB I met with one of the Speaker's policy adviser during the 3rd week. Other lobbyists and I have consistently met with Finance and Tax Chair Brummer (R-Apopka) on this bill. This meeting was followed up with an inquiry to the Fiscal Council and F&T staff director. It has yet to be determined whether the bill has made it into the exemption bill pot. The House is aware that the Senate will be hearing the bill during week five.

Members need to call their State Representatives immediately to let them know that they need to call and write letters to Rep. Brummer to let him know that their constituents really want to see HB 421 pass, noting that it is good for the local government (government won’t be taxing government) and for their constituents pocket books, as well as the fact that it passed the House last year.

Once again, Senator Constantine and Rep. McInvale, are sponsoring legislation (SB 350
and HB 1143, respectively) to return a portion of sales tax dollars collected at convention centers to the counties in which it is collected. The money is to be used for economic development. The total amount that can be returned to all counties is $5M, with a max for a county of $1M. To qualify the Gov.'s Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development staff will have to certify a building as qualified. Currently, 11 facilities fit the criteria to apply. However, there is a move afoot by the members of the
House to remove the sq. footage restrictions, which would allow any convention center to apply. Both the House and Senate bills have made it through two committees. The movement is improved over last year, but there is still a concern over the $5M coming out of the state general revenue if the bill passes.

There is no move afoot this year to make building managers responsible for enforcing
the state’s constitutional provisions against smoking when a show is put on that involves smoking. This is not to say the state statute enacted to prohibit smoking indoors has been repealed or weakened. But, it will be up to the state regulators to enforce the law, as the bill is currently written.

The politics of the issues the FFMA is dealing with is very complex and overlapping this
year. While there is a surplus of funds, the Governor is bent on seeing that the surplus (mostly non-recurring) be given back to the taxpayers, be used to repeal the last one-third of the alcoholic beverage tax (Gov. Bush pledged to repeal it while Governor, after receiving heavy support for his election from the Florida Restaurant Association),
and to repeal the final portion of Florida’s intangible tax.

2006 FFMA New Members

Welcome FFMA New Members!

• Chris Cockrill, GM, Marina Civic Center/Bay Arts Alliance, Panama City
• Jan Benjamin, City of Daytona Beach
• Eric Balmer, Assistant Director/Campus Registration, FL Gulf Coast University
• Billy Blood, Arena Manager, Alico Arena, FL Gulf Coast University
• Kathleen Monahan, Director, Tarpon Springs Performing Arts Hall

This brings our membership total to 88 members!

On The Move

AmericanAirlines Arena
Alex Diaz, Senior Vice President, Facilities & General Manager has left the Miami Heat and AmericanAirlines Arena. He has accepted a position with the New Jersey Nets to assist in the coordination of activities related to the generation of the proposed Brooklyn Arena. Good luck Alex in your new endeavors!

CONGRATULATIONS!

Kim Stone has been promoted to Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Arena division. Brian Babin has been promoted to Vice president Arena and Assistant GM/Heat, Jim Spencer has been promoted to Vice President Operations, and Jarred Diamond has been promoted to Assistant GM/Events.

FFMA Disaster Shelter Task Force

FFMA Board Members Rick Hamilton of the Ocean Center, Dave Anderson of the Palm Beach Convention Center and Rose Rundle of Harborside Event Center are working diligently to assemble a new Disaster Shelter Task Force (DSTF) that will be dedicated to assisting FFMA facilities that are currently and may be utilized in the future as shelters during emergencies such as hurricanes, floods and other disasters. Currently Rick & Rose serve on the IAAM Shelter Task Force and are working on putting together industry guidelines for the “Best Practices for Shelter Operations,” which is scheduled to be completed in late April prior to this year’s hurricane season. The document will be available through FFMA’s website once completed.

Planning for the FFMA DSTF is currently in progress and the development of a mission statement, goals and objectives are scheduled to be completed in April. There will be a web-based survey completed for all FFMA facilities in which the data will be used to assist local, State and Federal emergency agencies by providing them readily
accessible facilities capabilities, by providing them background knowledge and contact information of our shelter-trained staff, and by promoting the best ways to
work with our facilities during emergencies and shelter operations. Each facility will be asked to assign one to two staff members to the DSTF who will be responsible
for keeping their respective facilities information updated on the FFMA DSTF portion of the website as well as be involved with shelter operation training.
These members will also be charged with making sure every FFMA facility has an emergency plan including a shelter component and a staff that is trained
on emergency procedures and operations.

The FFMA DSTF is also looking for members to join the Executive DSTF committee whose responsibilities will be working with emergency agencies to improve the current State shelter operation standards, to establish consistency between all Florida shelter operators, to improve communication and relationships between facility managers and emergency agencies and to assist with the marketing of the FFMA DSTF to the various agencies to help bridge the gap between our facilities and the agencies tasked with responding to disasters across the state.

FFMA realizes the incredible impact becoming a shelter has on our facilities, staff and budgets. It is our hope to work towards easing those impacts on FFMA facilities and creating symbiotic relationships with emergency agencies that ultimately will help our communities and patrons during disasters. If you have any questions and/or suggestions for the FFMA DSTF, please e-mail Rose Rundle at rrundle@cityftmyers.com. Your input is very much encouraged! Once the webpage for the Disaster Shelter Task Force is operational, you will be encouraged to use the FFMA website for all correspondence.

News from Around the State

Ocean Center
The Ocean Center in Daytona Beach has finished phase one of its expansion project with completion of a 400 space parking facility and has begun the main project on January 30th of this year. The $63 million expansion includes an additional
100,000 square feet of exhibit space and an additional 30,000 square feet of meeting rooms. Completion and opening is scheduled for early 2008.

Palm Beach County Convention Center
Palm Beach! America’s International Fine Art & Antique Fair creates “Mosaic” to benefit the arts in Palm Beach and Martin Counties Palm Beach! America’s International Fine Art & Antique Fair (Palm Beach!), the United States’ premier fine art and antiques fair is announcing the creation of Mosaic - a philanthropic fund The Community Foundation for
Palm Beach and Martin Counties. The fund is dedicated to supporting non-profit programs in the Arts and Arts Education. Proceeds from the Palm Beach! Vernissage – the fair’s high-profile opening night preview – will benefit the fund. Palm Beach! Vernissage is one of the most prestigious events in the international arts community,
attended by 3,000 leading art dealers, collectors, interior designers, philanthropists and art experts. The invitation- only event was held on Thursday evening, February 2, 2006 at the Palm Beach County Convention Center. The Fair was opened to the public February 3 through February 12.

"Over the past 10 years, Palm Beach! has become an international destination for connoisseurs and collectors of fine art and antiques. Our community has played an integral role in this success, and we are thrilled to create Mosaic,” said Mary Ann Cleary, Communications Director, Palm Beach! She continued, “Promoting the arts and arts education is a natural for Palm Beach! We look forward to working with the Community Foundation to provide support for diverse arts programs throughout Palm Beach and Martin counties for many years to come.” Shannon Sadler-Hull, President and CEO of CFPBMC commented, “Palm Beach! has made an important contribution to our communities over the past decade by offering unprecedented access to excellence in fine arts and antiques. Each person attending the Vernissage will not only participate in this exciting event, but they will add to a permanent endowment from which grants will be made for important arts projects. The arts play a key role in our quality of life, and the Mosaic Fund of the Community Foundation will make a difference in this area.

About Palm Beach!
Palm Beach! America’s International Fine Art & Antique Fair features over one hundred of the finest international art and antique exhibitors, renowned for their excellence and quality of their collections. Palm Beach! represents all aspects of art from classical antiquity through the 1950’s. The fair attracts an elite group of sophisticated
and affluent national and international collectors and connoisseurs. Palm Beach! is produced by International Fine Arts Expositions (IFAE), which is located in West Palm Beach, Florida. About the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties
Established in 1972, The Community Foundation’s mission is to enhance the quality of life for all residents, now and for future generations. The Foundation connects donors who care with causes that matter to further their philanthropic goals. Governing all efforts of the Community Foundation is commitment to the belief that true community requires the inclusion of all. For additional information regarding the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties, please call 561.659.6800 or check the web at www.yourcommunityfoundation.org.

Palmbeach3 aimed for broad spectrum with a Three-in-one fair, which showcased established and emerging artists, and opened January 12, 2006 with a by-invitation benefit.

Palmbeach3 returned with more than 100 galleries in the lineup, more contemporary art dealers, a stronger design section and more community participation. The fair opened with a private preview benefiting the School of the Arts Foundation, the support group for the Alexander W. Dreyfoos Jr. School of the Arts, and ran through Monday, January 16, 2006 at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach.

The fair retained the three-in-one concept introduced last year — with separate
sections devoted to design, photography and contemporary art — to distinguish
itself from Art Basel Miami Beach, the nation's pre-eminent contemporary art fair
held one month earlier, and the many other art fairs that crowd the market.

"We try to have an interesting mix of galleries to provide a broad spectrum of established and emerging artists," said Natalia Hnatiuk, the fair director.

Art fairs have become increasingly important to many galleries' bottom lines, particularly those operating in the depressed economies of Europe. "We can't sit in Berlin," said gallery director Thorsten Albertz. "We don't sell in Berlin. There's no money in Berlin."

Art Basel Miami Beach's and palmbeach3's customer bases aren't identical, he said. "There are people in Palm Beach who don't go to Miami Beach," he said.

The smaller palmbeach3 is more relaxed than Art Basel Miami Beach and its maze of spinoff fairs. "In Palm Beach, we have more time to talk in depth about works," Albertz said. VIPs are invited to a party at Marvin and Elaine Mordes' new Whitespace collector showcase in West Palm Beach and offered morning tours of the collections of Jane Holzer and Burt Minkoff.

Orlando Centroplex Celebrates Success!
T he Orlando Centroplex celebrated much success as many events saw record-breaking ticket sales. December ushered in the height of the Holiday Season for the Orlando Centroplex as it welcomed a plethora of festive events to our venues. “Kicking” things off at the Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre were the world famous Radio City Music Hall Rockettes, who thrilled audiences with 48 show stopping dance and musical routines throughout the entire month and grossed an astounding $5.7 million, which is the second highest grossing event (only second to the Phantom of the Opera) in Bob
Carr history. The Carr Performing Arts Centre also presented another holiday tradition with several performances of the Orlando Ballet’s Nutcracker.

From world famous dancers to world famous horses, the TD Waterhouse Centre hosted two prancing performances by the "World Famous" Lipizzaner Stallions, who have become a seasonal event themselves. The end of the month saw singing and dancing of another kind where Gwen Stefani and special guest Ciara brought some hip-hop soul and pop sweetness to the stage with Stefani's Harajuki Lovers Tour. December also saw some “full court press” with the Orlando Magic playing nine games and grossing over $5 million in ticket sales.

The Florida Citrus Bowl stadium hosted both the Champs Sports Bowl and Conference USA Championship game held in December, which brought in approximately $2.7 million in sales.

Orlando Centroplex venues generated over $9.1 million in ticket sales, which was a record setting month. The Orlando Centroplex was very alive in '05 and looks forward to continuing the success in '06. We look forward to continuing the tradition of bringing the Central Florida community the best in live entertainment and to provide you with an extraordinary experience like you've never had before. So, here's to livin' it live in the New Year!

CENTROPLEX RESERVED PARKING NOW AVAILABLE!
The Orlando Centroplex recently initiated a new Reserved / Pre-paid parking program. We hope that by adding this new service, it will add to the enjoyment of our patrons’ experience. This new initiative comes as part of the Centroplex’s expanding partnership with Ticketmaster. Ticketmaster will offer and sell reserved parking for the Centroplex via its website, Ticket Centers and by phone.

While the Centroplex is still in the early stages of incorporating the new Reserved-parking program, patron response to the initiative has been overwhelmingly positive. We foresee beneficial outcomes for the new program and hope to see an increase of users as we continue to educate the community about our expanding programs to enhance patrons’ entertainment enjoyment.

BankUnited Center

GRAMMY WINNERS CASTING CROWNS PROVE CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN MUSIC WORKS IN SOUTH FLORIDA

(Coral Gables, FL -- February 27, 2006) If you thought Contemporary Christian music couldn’t draw big crowds in South Florida, you obviously missed the smashingly successful Casting Crowns show on Saturday, February 25. Hot on the heels of their recent Grammy win for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album, Casting Crowns blew the doors off the BankUnited Center with larger than expected crowds when their Lifesong Tour made a stop there along with Dove Award winner Nichole Nordeman, speaker Tony Nolan and newcomer Josh Bates.

This show represented a calculated gamble by both the Global Spectrum managed BankUnited Center and G. Gerald Roy of Sugar Spring Productions who were both pleasantly surprised by the overwhelming crowd, which far exceeded expectations. Global Spectrum General Manager Patrick L. McGrew stated, “The show
was built as a half house configuration but ticket sales blew the doors off the BankUnited Center. Though somewhat surprised, this was a concerted effort to demonstrate to the touring industry at large that Christian Contemporary music can work in the heart of South Florida”. Sugar Spring Productions representative G.
Gerald Roy added, “To all the nay sayers of the world that said we couldn’t sell more than 2000 seats in Miami, it was a pleasure working with the staff of the BankUnited Center who pulled out every stop to make sure this show was a success. I could not be more pleased”.

From the moment they took the stage, Casting Crowns lead-singer Mark Hall connected with the crowd on a personal and spiritual level with funny stories and anecdotes based on his off-road life as a youth ministry leader. The music of course spoke for itself as the band played popular songs from their gold and platinum-selling albums. Hits like the title track Lifesong from their sophomore release drew fans to their feet while
other songs such as Who Am I, had fans singing along to the meaningful lyrics.

The band has a few more stops to make before wrapping this Spring leg of the tour
but the mark they left on South Florida is palpable. The BankUnited Center now has
a benchmark for success with contemporary Christian music and is poised to capitalize
on this for future shows to come. The BankUnited Center, a 7,000+ seat multipurpose entertainment facility located on the University of Miami’s Coral Gables campus, hosts concerts, family shows, trade shows, lecture series, sporting events and the University of Miami men’s and women’s basketball teams.

For more information call 305-284-8686 or online visit www.BankUnitedCenter.com. The BankUnited Center is located at 1245 Dauer Drive, Coral Gables, FL 33146.

GLOBAL SPECTRUM CREATES A “RUMBLE IN THE GABLES” WITH CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING DEBUT AT BANKUNITED CENTER IN CORAL GABLES

Global Spectrum’s BankUnited Center hosted its first Championship Boxing event on the University of Miami’s Coral Gables campus on Friday, February 10, 2006. Not only was this a milestone first event of this genre for the three-year-old Global Spectrum managed facility but it proved once again that this 7,000+ seat mid-size venue can do it all.

When Global Spectrum’s General Manager Patrick L. McGrew initially proposed the idea of booking a boxing event on the University of Miami’s Coral Gables campus, it was with mild trepidation. McGrew stated, “I knew that this event might raise a few eyebrows because it had never been done before but I also knew that if this calculated risk was successful, it would pay off ten-fold by opening the door for us to do bigger and
better events in the future.” Every step of the way, the Global Spectrum management staff took painstaking efforts to ensure that everything from production set up and promotion to crowd control would go smoothly. Global Spectrum Director of Marketing
Heidi M. Palmer added, “Going into the boxing event was challenging because we had no previous measure of success for an event like this and therefore no idea what to expect. Despite that, we plowed ahead with an aggressive marketing and promotion campaign and were able to pull off a great event.”

The range of fans that attended, for the most part, were primarily mild-mannered boxing enthusiasts who were just excited for the chance to watch some great live action. When asked what this means for the future of boxing at the BankUnited Center McGrew responded, “Since we now have concrete proof of interest from the community and a great staff that can successfully execute all the intricate details of putting an event like this together, the sky’s the limit for what the BankUnited Center will bring to South Florida next.”

The BankUnited Center, a 7,000+ seat multipurpose entertainment facility located on the University of Miami’s Coral Gables campus, hosts concerts, family shows, trade shows, lecture series, sporting events and the University of Miami men’s and women’s basketball teams.

Global Spectrum, the fastest growing firm in the public assembly facility management field with more than 40 facilities throughout the United States and Canada, manages the BankUnited Center. The Philadelphia-based company is part of one of the world’s largest sports and entertainment firm Comcast-Spectacor, which also owns the Wachovia Center and Wachovia Spectrum, the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey
League, the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association, the Philadelphia Phantoms of the American Hockey League, Flyers Skate Zone, a series of community ice skating rinks, Comcast SportsNet, a regional sports programming network, Ovations Food Services, a food and beverage services provider, and New Era Tickets, a full-service ticketing and marketing product for public assembly facilities. Comcast- Spectacor owns 3 minor league baseball teams - the Bowie Baysox, the Delmarva Shorebirds and the Frederick Keys - all affiliates of the Baltimore Orioles.

Mahaffey Theatre

THE MAHAFFEY THEATER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS IN ST. PETERSBURG, FL UNDER
NEW MANAGEMENT BY SMG

(St. Petersburg, FL February 16, 2006) – The Mahaffey Theater for the Performing Arts
proudly announces new management by SMG as St. Petersburg City Council approves the company for facility management of the newly renovated performing arts venue.

Director of Marketing for The Mahaffey Theater for the Performing Arts, Sabrina Anico said,“The new Mahaffey Theater will be a sophisticated venue with elegant meeting space and spectacular bay views, offering diverse artistic fare to St. Petersburg’s vibrant cultural community.” She continued, “It is an exciting time to be here.”

City of St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker stated, “We’re thrilled to have SMG on board and look forward to a long and successful relationship with them. We envision the Mahaffey Theater to be the cornerstone of the entertainment offerings for downtown and we’re excited to have the country’s leading venue operator, SMG, as a part of it.”

SMG’s Vice President of Business Development Brian Kabatznick added, “We look forward to a great working relationship with the City to achieve its goals at the Mahaffey and the continued success of downtown St. Petersburg.”

The facility first opened in the Spring of 1965 as part of the Bayfront Center entertainment complex. It was first renovated in 1987-1988 and at that time was re-named the Mahaffey Theater for the Performing Arts, for a St. Petersburg family who contributed significantly to the capital campaign. Since its opening it has hosted a wide variety of events, including The Florida Orchestra, Broadway performances, dance, popular music, family entertainment, and Class Acts, a program enabling school children to experience the performing arts through in-theater performances as well as in-school outreach programs.

In 2004, after conducting both market analysis and feasibility studies, it was determined that the neighboring Bayfront Center Arena was no longer viable in the marketplace. The arena was demolished in December 2004, opening up space for the current Mahaffey Theater renovation. The $20 million project more than doubles lobby size, adding guest amenities while expanding ballroom capacity and versatility. The signature component of the renovation will be a three-story glass curtain wall and atrium that will look out onto the City’s beautiful downtown waterfront.

The Theater’s Grand Opening, to include performances, open house, and special events, is scheduled for spring 2006.

Headquartered in Philadelphia, SMG provides facility services to more than 180 venues, in 41 States, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Canada and Europe, manages over nine million square feet of exhibit space and controls more than 1.5 million entertainment seats worldwide. For additional company information, visit www.smgworld.com.

2006 FFMA Sponsors

FFMA is pleased to welcome two new sponsors joining us this season, Knight FM, Inc. and Miami Stagecraft, Inc. along with our returning sponsors for this new year! Our gratitude is heartfelt for your generosity in supporting FFMA and incorporating leadership in the sports and entertainment industry.

• Ticketmaster
• Hardin Construction
• Zeidler Partnership, Inc.
• Aramark Corporation
• Irwin Seating
• White Stallion Productions
• Centerplate
• Robbins Sports Surfaces
• Clarin
• Feld Entertainment
• Daktronics
• Knight FM, Inc.
• Milliken Carpet
• Boston Culinary Group
• Horner Flooring
• Cleanevent USA
• Ocean State Event Services
• StageRight
• Andy Frain Services
• Ad Systems
• Facility Forecast, Inc.
• Contemporary Services
• Miami Stagecraft, Inc.

A very special thank you to Palm Beach County Convention Center
for it’s participation and support of FFMA in kind.

FFMA Board of Directors

Lionel J. Dubay, President
ldubay@ufl.edu

Rick Hamilton, Vice President
rhamilton@oceancenter.com

Mickey Farrell, Secretary/Treasurer
mfarrell@tampasportsauthority.com

Mary Bensel, Immediate Past President
genmgr@bbmannpah.com

Dave Anderson, Member-at-Large
danderson@pbconventioncenter.com

Judy Joseph, Member-at-Large
judy.joseph@tbpac.org

Rose Rundle, Member-at-Large
rrundle@cityftmyers.com

Mike LaPan, Past President
mike.lapan@lakelandgov.net

Roger Englert, Past President
renglert@tlccc.org

Allen Johnson, Past President
allen.johnson@cityoforlando.net

Ron Spencer, Past President
rspencer@tlccc.org

Cherie Worley, Executive Director, FFMA
cworley@binary.net

Wayne Malaney, P.A., Florida Lobbyist, FFMA
fllobbyist@aol.com