HAVRE DE GRACE, Md. — The State Theater, a historic landmark in the Havre de Grace community, will not be able to reopen, per the owners via Facebook.
On the post, the owners said that the inability to reopen is 'out of their control.'
The building was shut down by the city last week, saying it was not up to code.
A meeting was held Monday for community members to gather to speak against the decision.
READ MORE: Havre de Grace community advocating to save The State Theater
The owners alleged that the theater being shuttered had more to do with retaliation rather than the building being up to code.
They reiterated those same feelings in the Facebook post.
"Although this final blow is not even related to the sprinkler system or permits we’ve been discussing over the last week, what we do know…has only added to our suspicions of how business is really done in this City," the owners said.
PRIOR COVERAGE: Will City Council members throw Havre de Grace Theater a lifeline?
With the theater not reopening, all donations made to the GoFundMe, which reached over $35,000, have been refunded.
The owners thanked the community for its dedication to keeping the theater open and encouraged everyone to continue to support the local arts scene.
The owners' full post can be seen below:
It has been an absolutely wild last few days to say the least. We never imagined the amount of love and loyalty from our community for the space we have built here - and with so much of your help and creativity along the way.
Tuesday night - barely 24hrs after the overwhelming show of support for our cause at the City Council meeting - we received another major gut punch. For reasons beyond our control, The State Theater will not be able to reopen as hoped. Although this final blow is not even related to the sprinkler system or permits we’ve been discussing over the last week, what we do know…has only added to our suspicions of how business is really done in this City. For now, we will simply say that future of the building that once housed The State Theater is now in the hands of our landlord and whatever chapter comes next with the City of Havre de Grace.
In the light of this development, we have refunded everyone’s donations. Donations received through GoFundMe will take 7-10 days to process; cash donations received at last FWA’s show will be refunded as credit to a future show. We’ll be taking August off to pivot and move out, but please follow Federated Wrestling Alliance on social media for more details, and reach out to us for the promo code to redeem your discount.
It’s still hard to believe that together, we were able to raise over $35K in less than **five days** because of all of YOU. We will never adequately be able to express our gratitude to everyone who contributed, shared our story, or just believed in us.
This is so far from how we wanted things to turn out. Please do not feel like your efforts were wasted, although it’s certainly easy to feel that way right now. Trust us: we’re feeling it, too. But please hold onto the friends that you met through this place. Continue to support live music and the local arts scene, in Maryland and anywhere else you travel. This might be the end of our story, but there are dozens more like us out there fighting for the same things.
We expect more details will come out over the next few months. In the meantime, we’ll be taking some time together as a family to regroup and figure out our own next chapter.
Thank you…for everything.
With Love,
The Noe Family
