The magicians at the Magic Castle are voting on the new landlord's reorganization plan, which has reportedly left them divided.
Members of the Academy of Magical Arts (AMA) who wish to remain anonymous told KNX News’ Karen Adams the plan would give the new owner control over the Magic Castle's operations while the AMA remains a tenant.
Ralph Shelton, an AMA member for over 40 years, told Adams the plan is causing a lot of confusion.
“There are a lot of questions and a lot of questionable items included,” he said. “The owner of the property, who has a love for the art form, no question, came in initially with the purchase of the property and now wants fundamental changes in the property's tenant in order to allow the tenant to remain there.”
He said it's hard to vote for a plan with so many questions yet to be answered about the plan.
“Before I make the changes that facilitate the occupancy, I’d like to know, what the terms of the occupancy would be,” he said. “I guess that's kind of like, if you want to live in an apartment somewhere, and someone says, ‘well, you're gonna have to pay some amount of rent,’ you probably want to know what the rent looks like before you agree to the occupancy.”
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Shelton added that he’s very uncomfortable with the situation.
“It's very unusual for a landlord to make these moves, and it's very unusual.
to require fundamental changes in the governance of this organization in order to reach an agreement as to occupancy,” he said.
If the AMA members don't approve the plan, the AMA must find another clubhouse by the end of 2028.
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