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December 6, 2009

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Moscow Circus plans to leave Orlando

Friday, June 6, 1997 | 5:47 a.m.

The circus hopes to relocate to Las Vegas, although Los Angeles and Reno, Nev., are also being considered, show manager Tony Azzi said Wednesday. The circus halted its performances last month.

Meanwhile, the circus' employees are stuck in Orlando and haven't been paid since mid-May, said Patricia Robert, a New York City-based public relations consultant who has worked with the Moscow Circus since 1988.

The circus originally had planned a six-month run here, but organizers said they would stay permanently if the circus attracted big crowds. It was to have been the first group from the revered Moscow Circus based outside Russia.

But crowds never came close to projections, and visitors balked at the $24.95 ticket prices. The circus grossed $5,000 a week against expenses of $75,000, Azzi said.

In April, the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission cited managers for keeping bears in traveling cages that were too small. The circus built six larger cages but failed to comply with regulations for building 4-foot-by-6-foot pools for the bears.

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