An Anniversary to Remember - Adrienne Arsht Center in Downtown Miami, Extreme Water Damage

5/21/2017 (Permalink)

The Ziff Opera House in downtown Miami suffered millions of dollars worth of damage in May, 2012, resulting from drainage system problems.

A local blogger once joked that rain made an appearance inside the Adrienne Arsht Center in downtown Miami five years ago  this week, on May 20, 2012.

But to many Miami-Dade concert-goers and taxpapers, the circumstance was no laughing matter.

Rain came pouring into the concert hall that night during a weekend performance of the Lion King, a much-anticipated and high-profile presentation. Lots of water.  And the facility was packed at the  time, with guests who had purchased tickets long before the event.

First, the bad news. Managers realized there was just too much water coming in. That night's show could not go on. About 5 minutes into the second act, managers decided staff would have to evacuate some 2,000 guests out of the building and into the rainy Miami night. Looking at the video provides a stark reminder of just how bad it got: click here.

Now the good news. After that night of the initial water damage, not a single subsequent performance of Lion King was missed. SERVPRO technicians amassed local and national resources to handle the massive and time-sensitive job -- behind the scenes, and without a glitch. Each day, SERVPRO technicians took down drying equipment prior to each performance, allowing show-goers to see  the Lion King; then they returned around midnight each night in a massive effort to set drying equipment back up again. This went on throughout the run. The end result: Thousands of Miami-Dade residents were able to take advantage of the tickets they had bought weeks and months earlier to see this highly anticipated show.

Here are some video entries reminding us of that event:

CBS 4 - Recap of the Flood

NBC6 - Miami - Water Pouring From Ceiling

ABC 10 - Arsht - Summary of Repairs and Costs