Mahaffey Theater is a concert hall located in St. Petersburg, Florida. The facility first opened in May, 1965.[1] It is one of the prime venues for the Florida Orchestra and hosts traveling Broadway shows. The theater lobby overlooks Tampa Bay through a three-story glass wall.[2] The Mahaffey Theater Foundation for the Performing Arts, a charity associated with the theater, provides education and support for young people in the performing arts.[3]
The theater was the site of the 1996 vice presidential debate between Al Gore and Jack Kemp.[2]
In 2003, Mahaffey hosted 234 performances that drew 169,000 paid visitors. In addition to the Florida Orchestra's performances, its top-grossing productions were Riverdance, which appeared for five days, drew an audience of 5,931 and produced a net revenue of $18,884, and the three-day Miss Florida Pageant, which brought in 2,661 people and netted $11,043. Elvis' Birthday Bash came in fifth with 1,280 in the audience and $5,183 in revenues.[4]
In 2005, Mahaffey Theater, "the city's pre-eminent performing arts venue,"[4] underwent a $20-million renovation.[2] The city-owned, 2,030-seat theater[2] is managed by Philadelphia-based SMG, a theater management company.[4]
In 2007, Mahaffey was scheduled to host the September 17 nationally televised presidential Republican Party primary debate, but the majority of candidates had scheduling issues and could not attend.[2] Instead, the debate at Mahaffey took place on November 28, 2007.,[5]