PUBLIC NOTICE
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL NUMBER: PC26-028
MARTIN THEATRE MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS
The City of Panama City, Florida (the “City”), a Florida municipal corporation located in Bay
County, Florida (“City” or “Owner”), through the City’s Parks, Culture and Recreation
Department seeks proposals from experienced and qualified operators (“Proposers”) to
manage, staff, operate, and program the Martin Theatre. The scope of the project will include
programming, maintenance, ticketing and customer relations, marketing, food and beverage,
security, back-office operations, (the “Project”), as is more fully described in Section 2, “RFP
Scope of Services” for the RFP documents. This is a turnkey opportunity for 200+ events/
year in a renovated historic venue, leveraging Panama City's tourism
(approximately 1M visitors/year) and collaborations with local festivals and marinas.
This Request for Proposal (RFP) is issued pursuant to Section 287.057 of the Florida Statutes.
All references to Florida Statutes, City of Panama City and Panama City codes, and other
laws/regulations will be interpreted to include “as amended from time to time.” RFP documents
may be obtained from the City’s Purchasing Division by email request to
purchasing@panamacity.gov.
Completed Proposals must be submitted to the City’s Purchasing Division, City Hall,
located at 501 Harrison Avenue, Panama City, FL 32401, via the Bonfire Portal at
https://panamacity.bonfirehub.com/portal/?tab=openOpportunities, by June 1, 2026, at
11:00 a.m. CT (“Proposal Submission Due Date and Time”). Any Proposal received after
the Proposal Submission Due Date and Time or delivered to a different address, department,
or location will not be considered. For questions regarding registering with the Bonfire Portal
or for assistance with proposal submission, please contact the acquisition/bid specialist,
Johnnie Gallegos, at purchasing@panamacity.gov.
It is the sole responsibility of the Proposers to ensure the receipt of all addenda. Therefore, it
is recommended that firms periodically check the City’s webpage for updates through the
issuance of addenda.
The City’s Parks, Culture and Recreation Department scheduled a Voluntary Pre-Proposal
Meeting on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. Central Time (CT) at the City Hall,
Lower Level, Room 010 located at 501 Harrison Avenue, Panama City, FL 32401.
Attendance is strongly encouraged but not required. At the discretion of the City, attendance
may be offered by Video Conference.
No proposal may be withdrawn for a period of sixty (60) days after the Proposal Submission
Date.
The City may accept the proposal of the responsive and responsible Proposer that best meets
the needs of the City, taking into consideration, among other things, cost effectiveness, the
financial responsibility of the Proposer, capability to perform the contract on a timely basis,
previous satisfactory performance, and such other abilities of the Proposer that the City, in its
sole discretion, determines will enable the bidder to perform effectively and efficiently.
The City reserves the right to accept or reject any and all bids, proposals, competitive
or otherwise, in whole or in part, to waive minor informalities in the solicitation
documents, to obtain new bids, or to postpone the bid opening pursuant to the City’s
purchasing policies as they may deem in the best interest of the City.
The City reserves the right to accept any Proposals deemed to be in the best interest of the
City, to waive any minor irregularities, scrivener’s errors, minor omissions, minor deviations,
and/or technicalities in any Proposals, or to reject any or all Proposals and to re-advertise for
new Proposals, in accordance with the applicable sections of the Florida Statutes, the City
Charter and City Code, and this RFP. The responsibility for submitting a Proposal before the
stated time and date is solely and strictly that of the Proposer. The City is not responsible for
any delayed, late, lost, misdelivered, or non-delivered Proposals, no matter the cause.
The City shall not be liable for any costs incurred by any proposer in connection with its
response to this RFP. The City reserves the right to reject any and all proposals, to waive any
informality in any bid, to solicit and re-advertise for new proposal submittals or to abandon the
project in its entirety.
PROPOSERS ARE ADVISED THAT PROPOSALS SUBMITTED WITH IRREGULARITIES,
DEFICIENCIES, AND/OR TECHNICALITIES THAT DEVIATE FROM THE MINIMUM
QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE, AND SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS OF A REQUEST
FOR QUALIFICATIONS (“RFP”), REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (“RFP”), INVITATION TO
BID (“ITB”), INVITATION FOR BIDS (“IFB”), INVITATION TO QUOTE (“ITQ”), REQUESTS
FOR LETTERS OF INTEREST (“RFLI”), AND REQUEST FOR SPONSORSHIPS (“RFS”)
SHALL RESULT IN A NON-RESPONSIVE DETERMINATION. ONLY MINOR
IRREGULARITIES, DEFICIENCIES, AND TECHNICALITIES MAY BE ALLOWED TO BE
TIMELY CURED BY PROPOSERS AT THE SOLE DISCRETION OF THE CITY. MATERIAL
IRREGULARITIES, DEFICIENCIES, AND TECHNICALITIES CANNOT BE CURED BY THE
PROPOSER, AND ARE NOT WAIVABLE BY THE CITY.
This Advertisement is issued by:
Owner: City of Panama City
By: Keith Meyerl
Title: Parks, Culture and Recreation Department Director
Date: April 1, 2026
