CHARLESTON, W.Va. — It will be last call for those who love the circus when Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus comes to the Charleston Civic Center one final time May 4-7.
The famed circus announced Saturday night that it will be shutting down after more than 100 years.
.@RinglingBros will hold its final performances in May of this year. Details: https://t.co/Z4iQLxI0Sh #RinglingBros
— Ringling Bros. (@RinglingBros) January 15, 2017
“I have made the difficult business decision that Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey will hold its final performances in May of this year,” CEO Kenneth Feld stated in a press release from Feld Entertainment, which has owned the circus for the last 50 years. Feld Entertainment produces other shows, like Disney on Ice and Monster Jam, that also come to West Virginia.
High operating costs and the decline of ticket sales “made the circus an unsustainable business for the company,” Feld added.
Between now and the curtain coming down on the traveling show, Ringling will perform about 30 times at dates across the country. Some of those performances will be in West Virginia. The final shows will be in Providence, Rhode Island, on May 7 and in Uniondale, New York, at the Nassau County Coliseum on May 21.
Last year, the circus retired its famed elephants from its performances, responding to public outcry over treatment of the animals.
“Ringling Bros. ticket sales have been declining,” Feld stated, “but following the transition of the elephants off the road, we saw an even more dramatic drop.”