Inside the Straz, previously named the Tampa Bay Performing Arts
Center, the open atrium adds visual interest to the lobby.
not easy, but eventually, in 1987, some
eight years after Bob proposed it, the center
opened and his dream came true. The
9-acre complex had three theaters (there are
five now) and cost more than $57 million,
and was built on land donated by the city
and orchestrated by then-Mayor Sandy
Freedman, who took over when Bob left
to seek the governorship.
Carol Morsani Hall was named for
car dealership owners Frank and Carol
Morsani. Ferguson Hall was named after
Tampa Arts Council proponent Louise
Lykes Ferguson, a member of Bob’s
15-member committee to pursue the
concept of a performing arts center, who
along with her husband Chester helped
lead fundraising efforts. Jaeb Theater
was named for convenience store owners
Robert and Lorena Jaeb.
The performing arts center ’s gala
opening, held in September 1987, included
guests such as soprano Beverly Sills, who
was then running the New York City Opera
Co. Dr. Billy Taylor and his jazz trio played,
as thousands flocked to see what was then
the largest performing arts center in the
Southeast.
As a public/private partnership, it
became the model for other Tampa projects,
such as the zoo and museums. The Tampa
Bay Performing Arts Center became a
symbol of Tampa’s sophistication. Since
then, Dr. Pallavi Patel and her husband, Dr.
Kiran Patel, donated $5 million that led to
establishing the center’s Patel Conservatory.
Bob Martinez believed that the performing
arts center would help to transform Tampa
into an international destination. In 2009,
the center was renamed the Straz Center
for the Performing Arts in recognition of
the generosity of the David A. Straz family.
The center, which continues to thrive
under the leadership of Judy Lisi, has
proven itself to be one of Tampa’s most
significant assets on many levels. It is
amazing what a dream can become. 9
EDITOR’S NOTE: Former Tampa Mayor
Bob Martinez went on to become Florida’s
governor from 1987-1991. He was the first
person of Spanish ancestry to be elected to the
state’s top office. We want to thank the Straz
Center’s blog, “Caught in the Act,” which is
found at thestrazcenter.wordpress.com for
providing information for this article.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 | TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE 49
Bob Martinez
saw the center
as a place where
everyone could go
to see Broadway
shows and
other forms of
entertainment, from
ballet to opera, as
well as popular acts
that had nowhere to
perform in the city.
NORAA