History

In spring of 2006, Progress Energy and the city of St. Petersburg announced a 20-year partnership to rename the Bayfront Center the Progress Energy Center for the Arts.

The site was originally known as the Bayfront Center, an auditorium and arena complex built in 1965. The theater underwent significant interior renovations in 1988 and was renamed the Mahaffey Theater. In 2004, the arena was demolished after a feasibility study deemed it obsolete and recommended new options for the site and the adjacent waterfront property. Today, the Progress Energy Center for the Arts is an emerging cultural complex featuring visual and performing arts. It includes the newly renovated Mahaffey Theater, the Grand Ballroom, the Atrium, the Center Plaza, Waterfront Park and the proposed Salvador Dali Museum.