Performing Arts Foundation seeks arbitration with City of Sarasota

A dispute over operations and donor funds could end the public-private partnership for the $300m SPAC project.

By Johannes Werner

Original Air Date: October 27, 2026

Host: The future of the $300 million Sarasota Performing Arts Center megaproject is in question after the non-profit proposing the public-private partnership announced it is seeking conflict mediation with the City of Sarasota.

Johannes Werner: In a statement issued Tuesday, the Performing Arts Foundation announced it is seeking Alternative Dispute Resolution. 

Layout of the scaled-down plans.

The 2022 public-private partnership agreement between the nonprofit and the city outlines that option.

The foundation said the city has been seeking amendments to the original partnership agreement and that the partners have been unable to agree on how donor funds and operations of the Performing Arts Center should be handled.

This, the Foundation said, leaves it “without the clarity and assurances necessary to responsibly advance the project.”

The city responded with a statement attributed to City Manager Karie Friling, saying the move came as a surprise, learning first about it by way of a letter from the Foundation’s lawyers at 1 pm Tuesday.

“The City has been meeting with the Performing Arts Center Foundation to discuss revisions to the existing agreement between the City and the Foundation,” the statement said. “These meetings have been collaborative, honest, and respectful, with the goal of advancing the project forward, while addressing necessary changes to the agreement to protect current and future taxpayer funds. The letter came as a surprise to City Leadership and the City Commission, given the ongoing discussions between the parties. The City will take the necessary steps to address the ADR process and evaluate the existing agreement and the project moving forward. Throughout this process, the City will remain focused on fiscal responsibility and determining the best path forward in the best interest of the City and the community it serves.”

The foundation said it has received $50 million in private gifts and pledges this year in advance of launching a formal capital campaign.

But the dispute resolution, the statement said, could lead to the termination of the existing partnership agreement.

In March, the city commission approved a scaled-down design for the project presented by the Performing Arts Foundation. But a financial plan for the project has yet to materialize. The project is now estimated to cost just below $300 million in its scaled-down version. The city is expected to take care of half the cost through a tax increment fund fed by local property taxes. But questions about public infrastructure and parking, and their cost to taxpayers have yet to be answered.

The city has been under a cloud of financial uncertainty due to storm damage and a state amendment that would cut property taxes. Also, Sarasota County has withdrawn from committing its share of the tax increment fund.

Meanwhile, the Foundation says it may strike out on its own.

Its board is evaluating a “different structure, including potential independent development.”

For WSLR News, Johannes Werner.

Note: A statement from the City of Sarasota was added after the original report aired.

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