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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The nearly 100-year-old building which is home to the Palladium Theater has been in need of costly renovations that include replacing all of the seats along with improving sightlines and acoustics, according to Executive Director Paul Wilborn.
“It’s just a building that we’ve made the most of, but it wasn’t designed for what we’re doing,” he said. “We’re trying to make it more into a theater than a church.”
Last year, the renovations were expected to cost $10 million but Wilborn said partly due to construction price increases, the cost has since grown to $12 million. The Palladium has already raised $4.5 million in private donations and $1.8 million in state grants, according to Wilborn.
“We’re getting close to our goal,” he said. “Fortunately, the project keeps getting a little more ambitious and a little more expensive.”
To reach their goal, officials at the Palladium Theater, which is owned by St. Petersburg College, have asked the Tourist Development Council for $2.5 million in bed tax money from its capital funding projects program. In order to qualify, the theater must show it draws visitors and puts heads in beds.
“We funded a $50,000 study that showed our economic impact. It showed bed nights,” said Wilborn. “I mean, real numbers not numbers we made up and how many people, over 50% of our audience, comes from outside of Pinellas County.”
Wilborn appeared before the Tourist Development Council at its July 17 meeting to update board members on the request.
“This is a piece that’s going to put this project together,” he said. “The plans are already finished with the architects. So, it’s really exciting.”
Board member Chuck Prather voiced his support for the project.
“There’s very worthwhile causes in here. We’ll just use the Palladium Theater as an example,” he said. “We said that we’re going to support the arts more and that, in my opinion, is one that’s very much worth considering and discussing.”
Board member Copley Gerdes, who’s also a St. Petersburg City Council member, said the city has pledged a minimum of $1 million to the Palladium for the design and construction phase. Wilborn said the biggest renovation they want to make is replacing the ceiling to improve the acoustics.
“Take this ceiling out. It’s a plaster ceiling and above it we’ve got 12 feet of attic and steel beams that are just in incredible shape,” he said. “We’re going to drop in sort of what would look like a ceiling from an opera house and the sound will be able to rise up into that attic.”
The plan calls for raising the stage by about one foot, removing 50 of the 800 seats in the main hall to improve sightlines and replacing all the remaining chairs.
“These seats are from 1925 and they’re actually in pretty good shape. Except, people are bigger and people want more comfort,” said Wilborn. “These seats after about an hour start to get pretty hard on certain parts of your body. So, we’re going to go with some new more cushioned seats. A little wider.”
Wilborn believes the Palladium can raise another $1 million from a seat naming campaign.
“People will be able to put their name on the back of one of those new seats,” he said. “That’s how we’re going to kind of wrap up the campaign.”
Wilborn said the Palladium Theater has been the community’s professional and affordable venue.
“We’re the community’s performing arts center,” he said. “We open our doors to everybody and we’re really a place where the arts organizations and the artists in our community come to perform.”
The TDC has seven other capital funding project requests and is expected to make their recommendations to county commissioners in September, who will approve the decision in October.
The Palladium Theater groundbreaking is planned for July 2025 and is expected to reopen the summer of 2026, coinciding with the building’s 100th anniversary.
“It’s actually about making the building work better for what we do,” he said. “It’s going to sound better, it’s going to look better, and it’s going to be more fun to come and see a show here.”
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Josh Rojas
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