Final Ringling Bros. Show At Nassau Coliseum Sells Out
UNIONDALE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Officials with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey say the iconic traveling circus' final show at the newly renovated Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Long Island is sold out.
An announcement was made last week that the "Greatest Show on Earth'' would be shutting down this spring after touring for nearly 150 years.
The circus will be at the arena in Uniondale for 16 performances from May 12-21.
Seats normally going for $23.75 in the venue's upper level and $191.75 in the lower level are priced on the secondary market at $245 and $2,000, respectively, for the circus' last show, Newsday reported.
Officials with Feld Entertainment, the producer of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, say declining ticket sales coupled with high operating costs made the circus an unsustainable business.
The announcement comes a year after the group retired its 11 remaining touring elephants — a response to growing public concern for animal rights.
Feld Entertainment said when they removed the elephants from the show, ticket sales declines more rapidly than expected.
Animal rights groups that have publicly opposed the circus and its performing animals are applauding the decision to shutter the circus for good.
"PETA heralds the end of what has been the saddest show on earth for wild animals, and asks for all other animal circuses to follow suit, as this is a sign of changing times," animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said in a statement.
The circus, with its exotic animals, flashy costumes and death-defying acrobats, has been a staple of entertainment in the United States since the mid-1800s. Phineas Taylor Barnum made a traveling spectacle of animals and human oddities popular, while the five Ringling brothers performed juggling acts and skits from their home base in Wisconsin. Eventually, they merged and the modern circus was born. The sprawling troupes traveled around America by train, wowing audiences with the sheer scale of entertainment and exotic animals.
The Feld family bought the Ringling circus in 1967. The show was just under 3 hours then. Today, the show is 2 hours and 7 minutes, with the longest segment — a tiger act — clocking in at 12 minutes.
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