Entertainment exec goes ritzy with condo

The chairman of the circus is coming to town.

Well, at minimum, when Vienna, Va.-based Feld Entertainment Chairman and CEO Kenneth Feld visits the Sarasota-Bradenton area, he should certainly have a nice place to stay. In fact, Feld recently bought a condo in the Ritz-Carlton Beach Residences on Lido Key. Feld, according to Sarasota County property records, paid $2.9 million for the 3,964-square-foot unit Dec. 28.

Feld Entertainment spokesman Stephen Payne confirmed that Kenneth Feld, who also owns a condo in the Channelside district in Tampa, did recently buy the Ritz-Carlton residence. Payne and Kenneth Feld declined to comment further on the purchase.

The condo, however, could soon become a popular home away from home for Feld and his three daughters, who all work in the family-run show business. That's because Feld Entertainment, which owns a slew of live shows, including the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, is building a production headquarters in north Manatee County, a $20 million project. (See Business Observer, Jan. 11)

Feld bought the condo from Bellagio Investments, a Tulsa, Okla.-based company run by Daniel Buford, according to property records. Buford was part of a group of developers and investors behind the Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota hotel and connected resort project.