Southwest Florida Event Center has closed its doors permanently in Bonita Springs. The reason: The coronavirus and fears about the future of the entertainment industry.
The concert venue announced the news Wednesday afternoon via email and Facebook. It had been closed temporarily since mid-March due to social distancing and Florida's stay-at-home order.
"The last 60 days have been difficult to be away from the hustle of the concert and event business," the statement read. "Considerable time has been spent evaluating the challenges of the industry moving into 2021, gauging what is going to be safest for the patron and artist alike.
“While social distancing for audience members may seem feasible, the logistics of putting on a concert will be tricky for the artists. There are so many facets and so many unknowns that we have made the difficult decision to cease operations.”
The center opened in June 2016 in a renovated Eckerd drug store on Bonita Beach Road. Current owners Richard and Jennifer Shanahan took over the business the following summer.
Jennifer Shanahan said closing the center was a difficult decision for them to make.
“It’s sad,” she said Wednesday. “I’m completely devastated because of the blood, sweat and tears Richard and I have put into that thing. But we had an amazing run!”
Read more about SWFL Event Center in this 2018 story: Bonita Springs venue survives, thrives with bigger acts
The center attracted many well-known musical acts in its four years, including Mavis Staples, Melissa Etheridge, John Waite, George Clinton, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Kellie Pickler, Three Dog Night, Ted Nugent, Crystal Gayle, Jefferson Starship, Maxi Priest, Steve Earle, The Wailers and Don McLean.
Shanahan posted the news on Facebook at about 3:40 p.m. Wednesday. Within an hour, more than 80 people had left comments of sadness and support.
“So sorry to hear this,” wrote Cyndee Deltoro, of Naples. “Richard and Jennifer are wonderful people who truly put their hearts into SWFL Event Center.”
Tom E. Gordon, of Naples, wrote that he had a lot of memories from the venue. “You all did such a great job bringing top-notch acts to SWFL. You should be very proud of these accomplishments. BRAVO!”
The reason for the closure wasn’t a financial one, Shanahan said. “We had an extremely great season. We’ve had agents ready to line up talent for next year.”
Instead, she blamed it on uncertainty about the future of the entertainment industry. Many health experts say the coronavirus could be with us through the fall and winter — and perhaps even another year or two.
That’s had an effect on planned concert tours — many of which have been canceled, Shanahan said.
“It’s not just about that 90 minutes of music that goes on,” she said. “Someone like Melissa Etheridge, her team arrives at 8 a.m. for an 8 o’clock show (at night). It’s so much of the team being in such close proximity to facilitate a one-day show, let alone a run of a multitude of places.
“If there’s a sickness within the group, or if they go to a venue the night before or something like that, what’s the certainty that the person in the front row’s going to be safe in my venue? I don’t know.”
Southwest Florida Event Center had to lay off its 52 full-time and part-time employees, Shanahan said. The venue had previously canceled all its remaining concerts for the season.
Shanahan said she’ll miss the venue, its customers and the concerts. But she wants to keep everyone comfortable and safe, too.
“First and foremost is the safety of our patrons and the artists that come through,” she said. “And we’re just not sure what the forseeable future looks like.”
Here’s the full text of the announcement:
Southwest Florida Event Center Closing the Curtain
Bonita Springs, Florida – Southwest Florida Event Center has woven itself into the fabric of the community over the past three years. We got into this business by circumstance but stayed in it by choice and with passion. Although our goals were lofty, we succeeded in building a successful event center ahead of industry standard. It has been a thrill to develop a loyal audience who welcomed some of the top touring artists into our community and hosted their special events in our spaces.
When Covid-19 struck our primary goal was to look out for our ticket holders. It was extremely important to us that our customers were able to get refunds without push-back from our ticketing company. With so many concerts throughout the world being “postponed” and using the same ticketing platform, we quickly made the decision to cancel all shows, allowing our patrons to be refunded immediately. We know it was the best decision, as since then, the ticketing platform has ceased refunds but 100% of our ticket holders received refunds.
The last 60 days have been difficult to be away from the hustle of the concert and event business. Considerable time has been spent evaluating the challenges of the industry moving into 2021, gauging what is going to be safest for the patron and artist alike. While social distancing for audience members may seem feasible, the logistics of putting on a concert will be tricky for the artists. There are so many facets and so many unknowns that we have made the difficult decision to cease operations.
We have always believed in “chasing unicorns”; talent possibly not fit for a venue our size. We have been fortunate to welcome Melissa Etheridge, Amy Grant, Mavis Staples, Robert Cray, America, Three Dog Night, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, just to name a few. It has been our pleasure to be the venue of choice for each wedding, Quinceanera, business meeting and fundraiser. Thank you Southwest Florida for welcoming us and embracing what we were able to provide to the community. We are forever grateful.
Sincerely,
Jennifer and Richard Shanahan
Owners
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