The Pops and Manatee Performing Arts Center on Bay News 9

Manatee Performing Arts Center expands with $12 million building

BY Julia Hazel Manatee County

UPDATED 7:04 AM ET Apr. 27, 2026 PUBLISHED 6:17 PM ET Apr. 22, 2026

BRADENTON, Fla. — A local orchestra is playing to sellout crowds, and now a big expansion in the works will allow them to enhance their community impact.

Officials say the Manatee Performing Arts Center has outgrown its current space, so plans are in place to build a multi-million-dollar addition.

What You Need To Know

The Manatee Performing Arts Center is undergoing a $12 million expansion to better serve its growing arts community, including the Pops Orchestra of Bradenton and Sarasota

The new facility will provide acoustically treated rehearsal rooms, expanded youth education programs, and improved space for performers

The work is expected to be completed in January

For orchestra conductor Robyn Bell, every note starts with preparation — something seen as she marks score musical sheets on top of a piano in the existing performing arts building.

“This is score study," she said. "As the conductor, I have to have my scores prepared.”

Her passion started in high school and turned into a 30-year career.

“Music is my life, and this is the best outlet that I have to do that," Bell said.

For the past 15 years, she has led the Pops Orchestra of Bradenton and Sarasota and helped the group grow.

“Programming has been an incredible expansion," she said. "When I took over, we had about 250 people come to a concert, and we would rehearse and perform once. Now we rehearse and perform three times, and we sell out all three shows. So it’s about 2,600 people that see each of our performances.”

But as much as Bell prepares for sold-out concerts three times a month, there’s one thing missing: a space for the orchestra to call its own.

Right now, they rehearse every Monday at the State College of Florida, but a more than $12 million expansion at the Manatee Performing Arts Center will change that.

Bell said she is looking forward to having "a dedicated space with all the equipment there that all of us need, acoustically treated to make our rehearsals the best they can be so that our performances are the best they can be.”

The center’s CEO, Janene Amick, said the new building is necessary because they have outgrown the current facility.

“It’s going to allow us to grow our youth education," Amick said. "It’s going to allow actors full access to rehearsal spaces, where right now there are times they’re rehearsing in the lobby right before a show.”

For Bell, a new space means new possibilities.

“And then expanding those programs, as I said, with our youth orchestra initiative, perhaps a chamber orchestra, a more classical style orchestra initiative," she said.

The next concert for The Pops Orchestra of Bradenton and Sarasota will be on May 2. The new building, which will be named Sara’s Studios, is expected to be finished in January.