*Kevin’s note
I was part of a citizen’s advisory group to create a vision for Panama City’s cultural center(s) to replace the Marina Civic Center, which was destroyed by Hurricane Michael in 2018.
The group comprised a relatively diverse mix of artists, entrepreneurs, and other interested citizens. We met six times through April to June 2021. Below is the whitepaper narrative of the vision we developed. After the narrative is a video of my presentation of this vision to the Panama City Commission.
Things to remember:
- Our group had no binding power. We just gave ideas.
- We did not (and will not) choose the site for these structures.
- We will not choose the firm to build them. That is the City’s job (with public input).
Let me know what you think of this whitepaper.
Kevin
Panama City Performing Arts/Conference Centers
Whitepaper Narrative | June 27, 2021
Introduction: A Day Downtown
Imagine a lovely day in downtown Panama City. You are attending a conference for work and haven’t been to Bay County since Spring Break in college more than 20 years ago. You have a few hours before the next meeting so decide to take a walk. You can’t get over what you see. The conference center is outstanding – well planned, plenty of space for breakouts and side meetings, modern audio and video equipment, easy walking to your hotel. But that is not what surprises you most.
What really catches your breath is how vibrant and interesting this city has become. The smells of many nations float from numerous ethnic restaurants. Murals and public art are everywhere you look. Music – live music – is around every corner. And all this within walking distance of that gorgeous bay? You might not make your meeting, but you will definitely bring your family back here.
Now imagine you and a loved one have tickets to a revival of Les Mis in the new Panama City Performing Arts Center. You’ve heard the facility is a knockout and have wanted to see for yourself. You decide to come in a little early to explore the revitalized area around the center and are floored by the beautiful, recently opened Hawk Massalina Center for Panama City Black History and Culture.
After touring a feature exhibit called “Working Waterfront: The History of Black Sailors in Building Bay County,” you have drinks at an endearing little tavern before the show. From your outdoor table you see fairy lights flicker on all over downtown as families with kids mill around McKenzie Park. Then on to the show.
The performing arts center is dazzling. High ceilings and gentle curves are the perfect canvas for explosive projection art from local artists. That, coupled with the salt air, makes you want to kick off your dress shoes.
The center has pitch-perfect acoustics. The lighting and stagecraft are near sorcery. Memorable art is as much about environment as it is the handiwork. You want to see the Mona Lisa, but you want to see her in the Louvre. You’ve seen many shows in many places, but the alchemy of this facility situated in this unexpectedly charming city has let you, at least for tonight, live your life as art.
Panama City has come into its own. It has arrived and you can’t wait to tell your friends what you have discovered.
This is the vision we had in mind while discussing what this city needs to replace the Panama City Civic Center. This is the life we want to live and help build for others.
We were told to dream big. That is what we tried to do.
First Things First. One Facility or Two?
Two. The advisory group is adamant about this. The purpose and needs of a performing arts center and a convention center are fundamentally different. Combining them into one facility will amplify the shortcomings of both while realizing the benefits of neither.
For instance, performing arts centers require a raked ground floor. Convention centers require a flat floor for exhibitions. Including one design in a single facility automatically negates the needs of the other. Performing arts centers need a fly space and wings while convention centers do not. Convention centers need many breakout rooms of different sizes. Performing arts centers benefit from small ancillary “black box” theatres, but even those have needs different from conference breakout rooms.
Each facility also has different customers. Conferences, and therefore conference centers, are marketed nationwide. Attendees plan to stay in town for several days over the duration of the conference and stay near the conference center.
Performing arts centers in markets like ours have a much more local or regional customer, typically someone who lives in town or can drive to see a show and be back home the same day. Think Pensacola or Tallahassee to Panama City. Some may fly in from Nashville or Atlanta as the market grows but customers will almost certainly be from the Southeast.
Lodging near the performing arts center is not a main concern in this instance. If these customers do plan an overnight stay, a hotel on 23rd St or at the beach will do. This can affect the location of the performing arts center, as it is not a dealbreaker if lodging is not within a short distance. Not so with conference centers. For those, all amenities – food, shopping, lodging – must be adjacent or close to the facility to walk or take a short Uber ride. Shuttles to remote hotels are problematic in that they need to handle large numbers of attendees at specific times and the rest of the day are used intermittently.
The previous Panama City Civic Center was an attempt to be an “everything to everyone” conference and performing arts center and served neither as well as it should have. Repeating that approach is a mistake.
Facility Requirements
A conference center has the benefit of large, quick revenues. The goal is to maximize this revenue. Performing arts centers, while revenue generating, also serve a vital quality of life function. In other words, shows and other events at the performing arts center should have profit as a focus, but not the only one. Local-focused, community-driven events build culture and solidarity, crucial values that are hard to quantify but must be considered in the overall calculus of this project.
Performing arts centers also typically represent the “soul” of a community, a physical structure that shows the world the aspirations and heart of the people in that community. This is rarely the case for conference centers. While there are many beautiful conference centers in the world, they are not renowned for their beauty, elegance, or impact on a skyline. That is exactly what performing arts centers are built to do.
As such, each center has unique facility requirements.
Conference Center
Conferences are a proven revenue generator. Therefore, we should build the largest possible facility to accommodate the types of events we are likely to attract in our Social, Military, Education, Religious, and Fraternal (SMERF) market. We should also plan for future growth in our local and regional market. Local events like wedding receptions, charity galas, and proms could help backfill revenue as well.
We recommend a conference center of approximately 100,000 sq. ft. with multiple venues, including a main conference hall, dining facilities, and many breakout rooms. While the facility should certainly be attractive, the primary concern is meeting the specific needs of the conferences in this market. Panama City has lost many valuable yearly conferences because the previous civic center did not have simple amenities like enough windows.
Performing Arts Center
Our performing arts center should be a work of art in itself. Not only should it feature installations by local artists, the building should forever mark the skyline of Panama City and make us recognizable at a glance. The Sydney Opera House and the Walt Disney Concert Hall are prime examples.
That said, there are practical concerns. Our market – even considering the next several decades of growth – will only accommodate a facility of a certain size. After studying similar centers in similar markets, we recommend a dedicated performing arts center of 2,500 – 3,500 seats with several 200-seat black box theatres. We also recommend amenities that will encourage and facilitate community use of the building, such as a kitchen and catering options to feed large groups. The lobby space and auditorium design should be unique in the area with room in the lobby for intermission crowds and access to sufficient restrooms and concessions.
This center could also open new business lines never before tried in Panama City. For instance, renting to touring stage companies for “teching,” using the facility to perfect all production before opening a tour. A multitude of staff would require lodging, dining, and other amenities during the contracted engagement.
A performing arts center of this size would complement the midsize Martin theatre, which has approximately 500 seats. At that point, we would have two outstanding centers serving multiple markets. This would also provide a stage for Panama City’s three foundational performing arts presenters – Bay Arts Alliance, the Panama City Music Association, and the Panama City Symphony Orchestra. The revenue of these groups has been severely stunted or entirely halted since Hurricane Michael.
Open Air Art
Another amenity under discussion is an outdoor amphitheater. Some performing arts centers situate amphitheaters on the same grounds as the center itself, even sharing a stage in some instances. This is obviously valuable, especially in Florida. The venue would instantly have more options and additional customer types.
We recommend an amphitheater be part of the City’s planning, but whether it should be attached to the performing arts center itself is still up for debate (see Site section).
Site(s)
Downtown or all around?
The advisory group was unanimous – both these centers should be built in historic downtown Panama City if at all feasible. This is for two primary reasons. First, the audiences for both types of facilities prefer locations with culture and personality. That is part of the “story” for both customer sets. Imagine going to see a Broadway show in a beautiful performing arts center where the only surrounding amenities were a strip mall and several chain restaurants.
The second reason is to spur the continued success of local downtown businesses and culture. These businesses are unique and locally owned. As such, they are attractive to conference goers and performing arts patrons hungry for something they have never experienced and can’t find elsewhere. There is a cumulative value here – conferences and shows bring customers to local cultural events and businesses, and those businesses make the conference and performing arts centers more attractive to prospective customers.
While the group did not discuss details of specific sites downtown, we did debate whether one or both facilities should be waterfront. The consensus was that they should both have a water view, as that would add to the experience. However, a view of St. Andrews Bay can be achieved downtown if the facilities were just a few stories tall, especially if they are built on a parking garage.
We also discussed whether the two distinct facilities should share a single site or be in separate places downtown. We decided it is not a dealbreaker either way, but that there would be definite efficiencies to having both facilities on the same site (parking, site prep, food service, etc.). However, even if the facilities share a site, they should still be separate structures to accommodate the unique needs of each as mentioned above.
What about the amphitheater?
It was agreed the amphitheater would benefit from being on the water, but it was not a dealbreaker. While waterfront locations for both facilities would help, being downtown with a water view would suffice. One idea to take advantage of our bayfront is to locate the amphitheater on the marina to give audiences a water and sunset view. However, both facilities must be walkable to downtown restaurants, shops, and other attractions. We understand this limits site selection, but we recommend working as much as possible in these parameters.
Funding
Because of the different business models for each center mentioned above, some other communities build a conference center before a performing arts center. The conference center brings quicker cash flow, and a part of the profits are set aside for several years as a “trust fund” to save enough to build the performing arts center.
While there was much discussion in our group, the majority decided to recommend against this approach. The fear is the revenue from the conference center would take many years to reach a point where it could pay for the performing arts center and there would be much competition for those funds from more “immediate” needs as the years go by. The performing arts center would become a back burner issue, energy and enthusiasm for the project would lag, and it would never be built. In 10 years’ time, new decision makers would be in place and the community memory of an arts center would fade.
In short, a performing arts center would never see the light of day, at least not in our lifetimes.
We recommend committing to build both these valuable facilities if not at the same time, then at least on similar timelines. We understand this is a formidable challenge, as the cost of these facilities will be in the tens of millions of dollars, maybe more. However, we believe setting our focus at this level is crucial and will make it harder to cheapen the vision and underachieve down the road.
While the City is working with FEMA to provide disaster rebuilding funds, this, combined with the insurance money from the Marina Civic Center will be a beginning for the funding of these facilities. The advisory group also suggests looking at Triumph Gulf Coast funds for the project. Other sources could be corporate funding for naming rights and sponsorship of specific areas of the facilities, rewarded with advertising and program recognition. Other private funding from citizens who love the arts might be received for individual pieces of the center such as the auditorium, curtain, seats, and various conference rooms. A bond issued by the City might be another funding source.
Education
While the new performing arts center and conference center would continue in the spirit of the Marina Civic Center to provide educational opportunities for school-age children, both centers could provide our youth unparalleled access to the performing arts, science, and other learning opportunities.
In addition, the advisory group recommends forming an alliance with Gulf Coast State College to create a theatre arts internship program through the college’s visual and performing arts department. This would be a hands-on learning program for both student performers and theatre/conference technicians to learn their trade at a state-of-the-art facility. While there would be an in-facility program at the onset, it could be the beginning of an arts college or technical school downtown like SCAD in Savannah.
Opportunities should also exist for students to interact with and learn from professionals in less formal settings than a college program. For instance, there are many local professionals who have worked in the arts at the highest levels globally but do not have the traditional “credentials” required to teach a college course. It is a huge waste of local resources to not provide young people access to these professionals.
Multicultural Magnet
A strong focus of the advisory group was building centers that attract and cater to all Panama City citizens, across all stripes, ethnicities, interests, and cultures. As a military town situated within easy driving distance of New Orleans, Nashville, Birmingham, Atlanta, Jacksonville, Orlando, and Tampa, Panama City is a naturally diverse place. However, our City arts scene has not always taken advantage of this cultural strength. We should.
The facilities and programming at our event and arts centers should actively engage these communities and help us reach our vision to be the premier city in the Florida Panhandle. Wouldn’t it be great if, in the same week in Panama City, you could attend the symphony, a slam poetry night, Hispanic food festival, chalk art competition, outdoor concert, and regatta?
Next Steps
Based on this vision, the next step is to issue a request for qualification statement from interested parties with strategic planning and architectural design experience in performing arts and convention centers, including expertise in market analysis. We need to know what is truly feasible and will be self-sustaining.
The City will then select the most qualified planning and design team based on qualifications, experience, and presentations to the City and the public. Once a team is chosen, its first task will be to conduct the market analysis and create proforma development for capital needs, define ongoing operational expenses, and target audience/talent viability. Following that, the firm will develop the conceptual designs and site selection for each facility, then architectural and engineering design, and ultimately construction.
Summary and Conclusion: This is Our Shot
The advisory group recommends building two separate facilities (possibly on the same site) to generate revenue for and enrich the lives of the people of Panama City. One should be dedicated to conferences and similar events. It should be marketed nationwide and be so well suited to these events that we have a standing waiting list. It will ideally have a water view, as that is a dealbreaker for many event organizers in our market. It should also be convenient to lodging, dining, and cultural attractions.
The other facility should be a heart stopping performing arts center. It should be so bold that it puts the Southeast on notice that Panama City has blossomed onto the larger arts scene. It should be so arresting that it defines the Panama City skyline and becomes a totem of our artistic soul. It should be so accommodating that everyone in Panama City—every culture, taste, age, and color—calls it theirs. And it should be so advanced that shows far and wide seek it out as a necessary date.
These facilities should be the artistic epicenter of Bay County. Therefore, we believe they would serve our community best in our burgeoning downtown district. The vibe, culture, local flavor, and sensory delight of downtown would complement and enhance both centers and the centers would further accelerate our ongoing downtown renaissance. We understand building downtown has significant challenges and we would defer to the market analysis if it shows the facilities should be built elsewhere in the City. But when we close our eyes, we see this happening downtown.
This is not the time for half measures. Municipal facilities are cornerstone structures on which thriving cities are built. Hurricane Michael brought many negative consequences, but also an opportunity for us to break out as the place you need to see in the Panhandle. Building these centers is a once in a generation—possibly a lifetime—chance to change our beloved hometown for the better. We are honored to play a part.
Qwirkery 
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