TMD has learned that the legendary Fort Worth, Texas venue Ridglea Theater where late great PANTERA/DAMAGEPLAN guitarist Dimebag Darrell played his final hometown date while in DAMAGEPLAN has been bought by Dallas area businessman Jerry Shults, who is going to restore the Ridglea to its original glory, with everything to be totally renovated all throughout the popular landmark. It truly is a historic theater and they just don’t make buildings like this anymore.
“It’s the best Christmas present I could’ve got for myself,” Jerry Shults said jokingly, when recently interviewed by DFW.com.
He’s talking about finally taking ownership of the Ridglea Theater, after stepping in to purchase the building in October after Bank of America backed out. Shults now owns the building outright, having bought it from Dallas-based FixFunding, which took over the property in Oct. 2009 after the R.K. Maulsby Family Trust filed for bankruptcy.
Richard Van Zandt and Wesley Hathaway, the building’s current tenants, will continue to book shows through March 2, at which time their lease expires and they will shift into yet-to-be-determined roles with the new ownership.
Additionally, Shults says once the balcony is re-opened and restored, the theater’s capacity will be closer to 2,000, putting it on par, spatially, with Bass Hall and that councilman Zim Zimmerman “fully supports” Shults’s efforts and is working to alleviate any potential parking problems. Although no one from the local Live Nation office would confirm it, Shults said the concert promoter is interested in possibly booking the venue exclusively.
In the long run, Shults envisions the restoration process taking a couple years, although he stresses that, when the doors re-open in September, most visitors will be able to see significant progress on that front. He’ll certainly be hands-on; Shults told me he’s looking at homes in the Ridglea neighborhood so he can always be near the theater.
“It’s a great thing for the city of Fort Worth and, hopefully, for the state of Texas,” Shults said.
It’s certainly a tremendous conclusion — thus far — to a story that threatened to have an unhappy ending. Much more to come as the situation develops.
http://www.ridgleatheater.com/
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