Players Centre for the Performing Arts torn down

The Players Centre for the Performing Arts building has been around for some time and has been home to countless productions and memories. 

But times change, and the theater company said goodbye to its building at 838 N. Tamiami Trail last fall. After a few months of inactivity, demolition of the building has begun.

Players Centre CEO William Skaggs said the new owners initially planned to sit on the building for some time but later decided to bring it down early. Work first started on the buildings interior followed by heavy machinery beginning to tear down the building last week.

"You can't help but shed a tear or two," Artistic Director Jeffery Kin said. "When you think about everything that's gone on there and all the joy and all the memories. It's just a place, but still it's hard to see anything torn down."

The company has been performing outdoors throughout the pandemic and is close to settling on a temporary location before starting construction on a Lakewood Ranch location in 2023. 

"For all of these 91 plus years, the Players has been in multiple theaters but the common thread is the people," Skaggs said. "It's important even with emotional attachments that we realize what those attachments really are, and that's the people that we surround ourselves with."