Posted on Tue, Jul. 03, 2012

While the full cost of the indoor downpour that washed out a Lion King performance at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts is still unknown, the cost will far exceed $2 million.

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez asked county commissioners to authorize up to $5 million for repairs at the county-owned performance hall on Tuesday, which is the county’s insurance deductible for the building.

Commissioners delayed the vote until July 17. That’s nearly two months after the May 20 deluge forced the evacuation of some 2,500 patrons near the beginning of the Broadway hit’s almost four-week run in Miami. After intense cleanup, the show went on again at the next scheduled performance two nights later.

After a storm drain pipe failed during a storm, water flowed from ceilings and light fixtures inside the Ziff Ballet Opera House and “caused considerable water damage” to several parts of the building’s interior, according to a June 20 status report from the mayor.

The county pays the Performing Arts Center Trust a $7.65 million annual subsidy to cover operations at the center; the money for repairs could come from that or from other tax collection funds.

So far, according to county documents, the first phase of the work cost $1.15 million. That included initial repairs and removing humidity from the affected areas. The demolition phase has started; expected to cost about $1 million, it should be done by late July, the county said.

The cost for the final phase — reconstruction — is still unknown.

According to the memo from Gimenez for Tuesday’s meeting, the county is working with the trust that operates the center to finish repairs in time for the fall season that starts in October.

A spokesman for the Arsht Center referred questions to the county Tuesday.