Feld Entertainment Relocating Headquarters

Circus rehearsal at the Tampa (Fla.) Fairgrounds

The producers behind some of the world's most well-known touring shows are bringing their acts together in Ellenton, Fla. — a small town of about 3,100 people 40 miles south of Tampa.

Feld Entertainment, producers of shows such as Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, and Disney on Ice will move their operations from their facility in nearby Palmetto to a $20-million property in Ellenton formally occupied by General Electric.

Within one year, the company will house all of its production equipment in its new location including scenic design, costumes, sound and lighting, as well as the company’s circus train maintenance. The new property is 47 acres, including 100,000 square feet of office space and 450,000 square feet of manufacturing space in two buildings.

Around 150 employees will relocate to nearby Ellenton – approximately 10 minutes away by car - with the expectation of more than 200 jobs being created in Manatee County. 

“We are going from a four-acre facility in our Palmetto location, which we have outgrown,” said Stephen Payne, Vice President of Corporate Communications. “The new facility will allow for a much more modern and user-friendly environment for all the elements that go into producing our shows. That as well as consolidating some of our operations that are scattered around the country.”

In five years, Feld Entertainment plans to bring their corporate headquarters from Vienna, Va., to Ellenton.

“We will be moving some of the jobs in our current headquarters in Vienna,” Payne said. “Also since the facility is large and we are growing as a company, it will enable us to add more people to the Feld Entertainment family as the company continues to expand.”

In May 2006, Feld Entertainment sold its Vienna headquarters to America's Capital Partners and signed a lease to continue working from that facility. According to a press release issued by Studley Inc., the lease runs through 2018.

"We expect to always have some sort of ties to the Washington, D.C., area," Payne said.
Because Feld chose to expand locally, they were awarded a total of around $3.8 million in grants and tax credits including $1.5 million from the Manatee County Government in Florida.

The move is not expected to be as difficult a task as many corporate transitions, Payne said, simply because the new location is less than a 10-minute drive from the old one. 

“Any large corporate move necessitates a lot of the same considerations no matter if it's two or two hundred miles,” he said. “But it does mean we are able to have continuity from an operational standpoint as we move into the facility.”

Interviewed for this article: Stephen Payne,  (703) 749-5505