Sarasota Performing Arts Center is on way. It’s not curtains for Van Wezel just yet, though

The Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall’s days as Sarasota’s top entertainment venue are numbered.

On Sept. 6, the Sarasota City Commission officially adopted the Bayfront master plan.

The plan calls for the redevelopment of Sarasota’s bayfront and includes the construction of a new state-of-the-art performing arts hall as a centerpiece, called the Sarasota Performing Arts Center.

The new hall could be a Kennedy Center south, according to Darrell Ayers, former vice president for education at John F. Kennedy Center for the Arts.

“But if we’re going to get to be a Kennedy Center south, or get to be a community that’s recognized at the same level it has been recognized in the past for its cultural offerings, it has to have a world class performing arts center,” Ayers said in a video on the new performing arts center’s website.

The new hall will offer more seats, modern amenities and a location better protected from flooding, according to Mary Bensel, executive director of the Van Wezel.

More seats will help spread the cost of shows, translating to less-expensive tickets for patrons.

It also will give the Sarasota area a competitive edge when it comes to attracting big acts and traveling talent.

“It will allow us to do much more varied programming,” Bensel said.

The new center will contain multiple venues, as well as space for expanded educational programming.

The estimated price is for the new hall is $240-$270 million, which is expected to come from a combination of private and public funding.

The Bayfront plan calls for the preservation of the Van Wezel in some form, but the building’s future use has yet to be determined.

Proposals have included converting the Van Wezel building into an amphitheater or shade pavilion for a new park that is part of the bayfront plan. Another option is conserving the building in its current form, but that will require some major renovations to comply with FEMA regulations, according to Bensel.

For now, there is still plenty of time to catch a show at the storied Sarasota theater.

Bensel estimates that shows will continue to be held at the Van Wezel for five to seven years.

The venue’s 2018-2019 season kicks off with acts including Eddie Izzard, Lord of the Dance, Kenny G, Bob Dylan, Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen, Mannheim Steamroller and Black Violin.

Find out more about the plans for Sarasota Performing Arts Center at sarasotaperformingartscenter.org.

This story was originally published September 25, 2018 at 8:36 AM.