ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A week before Election Day, the chairman and CEO of Big3 Entertainment Group, which runs the Mahaffey Theater, voiced concerns about a referendum that asks voters to approve the expansion of the Dali Museum.

The theater and museum are neighbors along St. Petersburg’s waterfront.

“We understand their expansion needs, and we sympathize with it,” said Big3’s Bill Edwards. “We don’t want to get blown up in the process.”

The referendum asks voters whether they want the city council to approve an amendment to the Dali Museum’s 99-year lease with the city to allow construction of the expansion. A spokesperson for the museum said they need no city taxpayer dollars to pay for the project. She said a $17.5 million capital project grant will fund it. The Pinellas County Commission awarded it to the Dali. That money comes from “bed tax” collected from overnight tourist accommodations. Dali Museum Executive Director Dr. Hank Hine said the expansion will add land to the lease that’s currently a city-owned right-of-way that leads to a parking garage between the museum and the Mahaffey. While it may look like a relatively small space, Hine said there are big plans for the addition, including educational space for the 15,000 students who visit the Dali every year and areas for interactive digital arts experiences. 

“It’s essential to the survival of the museum in a new era,” said Hine of the expansion. “When there’s more and more familiarity with technology, people need that to feel comfortable to view this beautiful art from the past. I think it’s also essential to the growth of the city as a cultural Mecca.”

Edwards said he’s not against a Dali expansion but has concerns about this plan. In a Monday news release, he urged residents to vote no on the referendum. 

“It’s a little late to ask them to vote now. I think they already voted,” Edwards said when Spectrum Bay News 9 asked about that message Tuesday.

The release said the project would negatively affect parking for the theater and partners, like the Tampa Bay Rowdies, by eliminating an entrance/exit.

“When we have a show here, we bring in thousands of people, and they’re backed up down the freeway. There’s only two exits and entrances that are main entrances, and for us to be able to operate, we need that parking garage,” said Edwards.

“We’re really surprised because just a month ago, we were hearing of his support for the project,” said Hine. “For three years, we’ve had discussions with the Mahaffey team and city planners about the project, and everybody was on board. They knew this was essential to the Dali, and they knew it could be done without any interruption to our neighbors.”

Hine said there will be no negative impacts to neighbors like Albert Whitted Airport, the St. Pete Grand Prix and the Mahaffey. Edwards said he’s not convinced that will be the case. 

The ordinance the city would approve to move the project forward states that part of “Lot 3”, a parking lot on the Dali premises, will be used to replace the right-of-way lost during the expansion.

The news release said another concern for Edwards is that an approval of the referendum would mean the city could renegotiate its contract with Big3 Entertainment, creating possible negative impacts on programming.

Hine said throughout the planning process, accommodations have been made for neighbors, including scrapping plans to build a parking garage.

“One concern was, ‘Well, will construction interrupt the activity of, for instance, a show at the Mahaffey?’” Hine said. “Well, you know what? We built this building ten years ago, and there was an active Mahaffey Theater before Bill Edwards took control of it. There was an active Mahaffey theater, there was an active Grand Prix, and no one was inconvenienced for a moment because we planned so well the construction and the removal of construction equipment and the timing of it.”

Hine said if the referendum is approved, the expansion could be completed some time in 2025.