Mizner’s Trip To The City

The Centre for the Arts at Mizner Park, which owns the Count de Hoernle Amphitheatre in Boca Raton, Fla., has asked the city to buy the shed, and the city decided June 7 to enter into negotiations.

The Centre for the Arts, which built the 3,404-capacity venue for $6 million in 2002, claims it does not have the money to maintain the shed because of a decline in donations, and has suggested part of its decline in programming is because of a dispute with exclusive promoter Live Nation, according to the Palm Beach Post.

The negotiations are with the Boca Raton Community Redevelopment Agency, which owns the land the shed is on at Mizner Park. The city is estimating takeover would cost $1.1 million annually to run the amphitheatre, and estimates the shed requires $509,000 in improvements.

Meanwhile, the city has to figure out who will run the venue during the transition.

The city said it could buy out Centre for the Arts for $825,000, which would clear the nonprofit’s debt, then hand the contract to a private company. The city could also enter into a one-year contract with the cultural arts group, which would continue to book the amphitheatre while the city paid for maintenance, repairs and improvements, the Post said.

The city is not considering a long legal process of giving Centre for the Arts notice for being in default on the lease agreement.