FATHER OF THE
TAMPA BAY
PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
s Bob Martinez
By Aaron R. Fodiman
While the Tampa Bay Performing
Arts Center opened 30 years
ago, its history really began
earlier in July of 1979, when
Café Sevilla owner Bob Martinez, whose
grandparents came to Tampa from Spain,
decided to run for mayor after having
been recruited to serve on the board of
the Southwest Florida Water Management
District by Florida Gov. Reubin Askew.
Bob knew that former Tampa Mayor
Dick Greco had proposed building a
theater in the heart of Tampa in 1974,
but that effort had failed when Dick left
office. Bob remembered enjoying what
Tampa was like while he was growing
up and dating his wife Mary Jane. One
of his platforms while running for
mayor was to build a performing arts
center to bring back the vibrancy that
formerly existed in the downtown area.
He believed that it would also be a key
to economic development and attracting
new businesses to Tampa. The city would
need to have some cultural offerings to
entertain and educate CEOs and their
families who would come to Tampa with
their companies to live. Bob had heard
the sad joke that the difference between
Tampa and yogurt was that yogurt had
a living culture. He knew a performing
arts center could change that, and it was
a needed change.
Bob and Mary Jane Martinez
WIN WOLLOFF
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 | TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE 45