Ringling Bros. returning to Southwest Florida
Lee Molinaro welds sign brace supports to the large Ringling Bros. sign at Feld Entertainment in Palmetto.HERALD-TRIBUNE ARCHIVE / 2007By Jay Handelman
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Virginia Haley is doing a "little happy dance" over the news that Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus is returning to Southwest Florida.
Ringling's $20 million plan to buy and renovate a manufacturing plant and 47-acre tract in Ellenton reinvigorates the region's connection to its nearly 100-year-old circus legacy, said Haley, the president of the Sarasota Convention and Visitors Bureau.
"It is that thing that makes our area really unique," Haley said. "Not a lot of places have that circus heritage. So, to have more of the business of the circus located in the area becomes really important."
The site on the north shore of the Manatee River will become the global production center for Feld Entertainment Inc., Ringling's parent company that also produces Disney on Ice, Disney Live, Monster Jam and Feld Motor Sports productions.
Haley noted that her office recently launched a circus-themed promotion for travel professionals.
"We're following Ringling around to promote the circus ties to Sarasota at performances. We had a great response at our first event in Miami," she said.
Another is scheduled in Atlanta next month.
It is difficult to overstate the Ringling impact on the region, which developed into an arts and culture destination because of the number of visual and performing artists who initially came to work with the circus when John Ringling moved the winter quarters to Sarasota in 1927.
Ringling built a mansion along Sarasota Bay and a museum to hold his vast art collection that was turned over to the state after his death. He also became actively involved in real estate and land development.READ MORE:http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20120131/ARTICLE/120139915
Ringling's $20 million plan to buy and renovate a manufacturing plant and 47-acre tract in Ellenton reinvigorates the region's connection to its nearly 100-year-old circus legacy, said Haley, the president of the Sarasota Convention and Visitors Bureau.
"It is that thing that makes our area really unique," Haley said. "Not a lot of places have that circus heritage. So, to have more of the business of the circus located in the area becomes really important."
The site on the north shore of the Manatee River will become the global production center for Feld Entertainment Inc., Ringling's parent company that also produces Disney on Ice, Disney Live, Monster Jam and Feld Motor Sports productions.
Haley noted that her office recently launched a circus-themed promotion for travel professionals.
"We're following Ringling around to promote the circus ties to Sarasota at performances. We had a great response at our first event in Miami," she said.
Another is scheduled in Atlanta next month.
It is difficult to overstate the Ringling impact on the region, which developed into an arts and culture destination because of the number of visual and performing artists who initially came to work with the circus when John Ringling moved the winter quarters to Sarasota in 1927.
Ringling built a mansion along Sarasota Bay and a museum to hold his vast art collection that was turned over to the state after his death. He also became actively involved in real estate and land development.READ MORE:http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20120131/ARTICLE/120139915
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