Staff recommends commissioners vote to demolish the Marina Civic Center

PANAMA CITY, Fla. ( WMBB ) – Panama City staff members recommended commissioners vote to tear down the Marina Civic Center.

The facility was heavily damaged during Hurricane Michael, but FEMA did not pay to replace it.

The city sued and lost, leaving commissioners in a quandary about what to do with it. Staff offered three options on Tuesday. Remodel it for $33 million, remodel it in phases, or demolish it and replace it with a temporary amphitheater.

Staff recommended demolition saying remodeling will cost almost as much as building a new facility.

“We have had folks that have reached out and offered to help do some fundraising for a new large performing arts center to potentially either remodel and refurbish the Civic Center or to build a new one. And either tomorrow or Thursday, myself and Commissioner Haligas and a couple of other senior staffers have a meeting with one of those folks. And so we’re going to have that conversation,” Panama City City Manager Johnathan Hayes said.

The issue was tabled. The city’s current demolition bid, for half a million dollars, will expire at the end of June.

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