The city’s focus has shifted from subsidizing and promoting events to simply providing rental space.
Tag: RP Funding Center
First Magic, Now Tropics: Teams Cite ‘Exorbitant’ Rent Hikes for Leaving
After seven seasons, the Florida Tropics soccer club announced Friday that it can no longer afford to play at the RP Funding Center.
End of an Era: Magic Leaving Lakeland
The Orlando Magic’s G League team is heading to Kissimmee, where team officials hope to sell more tickets and be closer to Orlando.
RP Funding Center Name Would Remain, Under More Lucrative Agreement
The city of Lakeland would receive $1.25 million over the next five years for naming rights, a $500,000 increase.
RP Funding Center Faces Budget Challenges as New Season Opens
The RP Funding Center opens its 2022-23 entertainment season this month as Lakeland city commissioners decide on an annual budget that would lower operational costs and prompt programming changes that are hoped to attract new audiences.
City Negotiating Naming Rights for RP Funding Center
Is the RP Funding Center getting a new name? The city of Lakeland is currently negotiating naming rights for the performing arts/sports/convention center that opened as The Lakeland Civic Center in 1974, morphed into The Lakeland Center in 1996 and was rechristened as RP Funding Center in 2017.
Mayor Lauds RP Funding Center Chief, Then Insists He Further Slash the City’s Subsidy
Tony Camarillo kept the RP Funding Center doors open during a seven-year, $16 million renovation, negotiated a five-year, $5 million sponsorship deal that brought an NBA minor league team to Lakeland and reduced the city’s annual operations subsidy by 60% despite enduring a pandemic-induced “worst year ever” in 2020.
Complex Question: What if RP Funding Center Became an Arts Hub?
Kerry Falwell has big what-if questions on her mind these days: What if Lakeland focused resources to create a vibrant center for visual and performing arts? And what if the RP Funding Center became the official home of Lakeland’s arts scene?