PINELLAS PARK - In three years, the Pinellas Expo Center has become a destination with its mixed bag of attractions, from pet shows to gun displays to Latin dances to male strippers and pornographic film awards.
But no more. Expo officials late Friday confirmed the center is closing.
"We see our business as headed in a different direction and therefore decided to cease operations at that location," said Ike Richman, spokesman for Global Spectrum, which manages the center.
Philadelphia-based Comcast-Spectacor, parent to Global Spectrum, is a sports and entertainment company that owns the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL, the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA, the Wachovia Center, the Wachovia Spectrum, and Comcast SportsNet, the 24-hour regional sports programming TV network.
Rumors of the center's imminent demise have been rife around Pinellas Park for the past few weeks.
One of the first to confirm the news was the St. Petersburg International Folk Fair Society, which moved to the Expo Center this year after being shut out of the Bayfront Center. It was so pleased with the venue and the results, the group tentatively scheduled next year's event.
But when it came time to sign a contract, Gail Wallace, SPIFFS administrative manager, said Expo employees told her "there would not be anything in the Expo after this month."
"They are closing. They are supposed to be closing . . . It's very sad," Wallace said. "Tampa has its convention center. Pinellas needs ours."
Now, she said, both St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker and Pinellas Park Mayor Bill Mischler are looking for a new home for SPIFFS.
Mischler confirmed he is trying to find an appropriate location for next year's SPIFFS gala, the group's 30th anniversary.
Mischler acknowledged he had heard rumors that the center would be closing because the monthly rent is too high. The mayor said Global Spectrum president Mitch Sauers had approached Pinellas Park about partnering with Global Spectrum to run a city facility. "There's nothing the city can do," Mischler said.
The Expo opened in 2001 at 10601 U.S. 19 N in a deserted Sam's Club, which could not work out a lease deal with the site's owner. The Expo offered 105,000 square feet, or room for 500 booths.
The Expo took off slowly but soon became a destination because of the variety it offered.
Then in March, it was announced that the building was for sale. Pinellas County tax records show the owner as G&B Properties of San Diego. Tax records showed the approximately 13 acres have an assessed value of about $6.35-million.
At the time, Sauers and Rui Farias, spokesman for the Expo, said the sale would have no effect on the Expo Center. Global Spectrum had 21/2 years remaining on its lease with an option to rent for another five years.
