The David A. Straz, Jr. Center for the Performing Arts (formerly the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center) opened its doors in July of 1987. Since that time The Straz has welcomed nearly 16 million guests.
The Straz is located in Downtown Tampa, FL on a picturesque nine-acre site along Tampa’s robust Riverwalk. One of the largest performing arts complexes in the country, the 335,000 square-foot Straz Center provides an environment for a wide variety of world-class events. It boasts one of the nation’s leading Broadway series and is nationally respected for producing grand opera, as well as presenting a wide variety of concerts, performances and events. In a typical season, more than 600,000 patrons attend 1,500+ events at the Straz Center.
The performing arts complex consists of five theaters, a performing arts conservatory, a rehearsal hall, three on-site restaurants, a coffee shop and banquet facilities. The five individual theaters at the Straz Center are Morsani Hall (2,610 seats), Ferguson Hall (1,042 seats), the Jaeb Theater (312 seats), the TECO Theater (250 seats) and the Shimberg Playhouse (130 seats). The campus also boasts the outdoor Riverwalk Stage.
With the 2004 addition of the Patel Conservatory, the Straz Center added 45,000 square feet for its extensive arts education programs. The Patel Conservatory features 20 studios, including three dance studios with sprung floors, a sound/lighting laboratory, technical theater workshop, rehearsal hall, costume shop and a state-of-the-art black box theater. Straz Center Arts Education annually serves nearly 65,000 students, both on campus and off, with more than 225,000 hours of instructional activities and classes yearly.
For more information on the Straz Center, Opera Tampa or the Patel Conservatory, visit www.strazcenter.org/.