© 2024 All Rights reserved WUSF
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Pulse To Re-Open Under Same Name At Different Site, Owner Says

Pulse nightclub
Photo: Matthew Peddie, WMFE

The owner of Pulse says she is planning on re-opening the gay nightclub in a different location.

Barbara Poma tells 90.7 News she is planning on re-opening Pulse under the same name at a location as close as possible to the site of the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

She says the new club will be similar to the original because that is what supporters and former staffers say they want when they have gathered at Pulse events since the massacre.

“The comment is it doesn’t feel like home. It doesn’t feel like Pulse, and I say, Well, when I build you a new one it’s not going to be just like home. So I think what the message is, it needs to be as much as it can be in its original form.”

Poma announced earlier this week she feels a personal obligation to transform the site of the shooting into a permanent memorial to the 49 who died.

She said she’s decided against selling the building to the city.

You Count on Us, We Count on You: Donate to WUSF to support free, accessible journalism for yourself and the community.