Players Centre is a million dollars closer to moving to Lakewood Ranch
The Players Centre for Performing Arts is one giant step closer to its goal of moving to Lakewood Ranch.
On Friday, the company announced that it had received a $1 million gift toward its planned new complex in Lakewood Ranch.
Last year, the company revealed plans to sell its current property on Tamiami Trail and build a complex in Lakewood Ranch’s newest village, Waterside. This is the biggest gift it has received in its $30 million capital campaign for the new complex. The company expects to get about $10 million from the sale of its current property.
The gift comes from the Muriel O’Neil Fund for the Performing Arts at the Community Foundation of Sarasota County.
The new Players Centre will feature a 480-seat main stage auditorium with balcony seating, a 125-seat black box theater, a 100-seat cabaret theater with dining, and the main campus of the Arnold Simonsen Players Studio, the education arm of the organization.
The Players Centre for Performing Arts, formerly known as the Players Theatre and colloquially as Sarasota Players, is a community theater that has been in operation for 87 years.
Marty Clear: 941-708-7919, @martinclear
This story was originally published June 9, 2017 at 7:00 PM with the headline "Players Centre is a million dollars closer to moving to Lakewood Ranch."