SARASOTA (970 WFLA) -- Celebrity high-wire walker Nik Wallenda wants a shot at saving the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus.
Wallenda tells our Maverick and Lulu at sister station 92.1 CTQ... he wants a meeting with the head of Feld Entertainment, which owns the circus and recently announced it would close after 146 years.
"(The Feld family) had a chance to buy the circus from the Ringlings... and I think that they should have given someone else the chance to carry on that brand."
Wallenda says that despite the issues that led Ellenton-based Feld Entertainment to bring down the curtain, the circus as an art form is alive and well. In addition to his work on the wire, Wallenda has performed with Circus Sarasota.
Feld Entertainment announced January 14th that it would close the Ringling circus at the end of its current tours, citing declining ticket sales, following the retirement of its circus elephants.