St. Petersburg's venerable and famously intimate downtown concert venue, Jannus Landing, is close to reopening under new ownership and a new name: Jannus Live.
Jannus Landing became known in the 1980s as one of the Tampa Bay area's best outdoor concert venues. It was the place to see bands like Pearl Jam before that Seattle-based grunge group became a household name in the early 1990s.
Knight Global Entertainment, owned by Tampa Bay region entrepreneurs Jeff Knight and Bill Edwards, hopes to have Jannus Live up and running after extensive renovations by the end of March.
A concert schedule is in the works and will be announced soon on the Jannus Live website.
Among the improvements at the site will be a new stage, framed by a wrought-iron rig that will support the new lightning and P.A. systems.
The old signature "circus tent" covering will be replaced by a larger covering without the old poles that obstructed views. New, indoor restrooms are being added, along with a Plexiglas-covered Koi pond within a floor-level VIP section.
Improvements also include a patio bar in the southwest corner of the courtyard and eight balcony level VIP suites. The furnished suites, which will be available for multishow or single show rentals, will include a flat-screen TV, a mini-refrigerator, wood floors and a bar top.
Suite VIPs will have access to a common lounge with bar and food services, which will be offered as part of the suite price.
In addition, the walls will be resurfaced and painted, and the courtyard floor will be smoothed and resurfaced.
Writer: Carter Gaddis
Source: Eric Snider, Jannus Live
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