Dickinson repurchases Springfield 8 Cinema

Overland Park, Kan.-based Dickinson Theatres Inc., the proprietary owner of IMAX rights in the Springfield market, repurchased Springfield 8 Cinema, 3200 E. Montclair St., from Goodrich Quality Theaters in May for an undisclosed price.

Dickinson, which operates 36 theaters and 337 screens in 10 states, built Springfield 8 in 1990 and sold it to Goodrich in 1999. Dickinson now plans a $3 million renovation, namely adding a 7,000-square-foot IMAX auditorium with seating for 475.

Other plans include converting the two largest auditoriums to stadium seating and remodeling the lobby and restroom areas.

Dickinson had been partnering with Kansas City-based developer DJ Christie Inc. to develop 27 acres in Nixa, at the intersection of U.S. Highway 160 and a proposed expansion of State Highway CC. But that property contained sinkholes that made it unsuitable for a theater, according to Dickinson President and CEO John Hartley Jr.

It was at that point that Goodrich approached Dickinson about buying Springfield 8.

“It really was a perfect match,” Hartley said. “We needed a place to locate our IMAX theater, and Goodrich Quality Theatres at the same time wanted to sell the Springfield 8, so everything just fell together at the right time.”

The market

Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Goodrich’s decision to sell, according to company president and owner Bob Goodrich, was not based on the theater’s performance. He said Springfield 8 was consistently one of the top two or three performing theaters in his 31-theater chain; the theater averaged monthly ticket sales of 35,000 in 2007.

The decision, he said, was based on his company’s portfolio; it has opened three IMAX theaters, in Chicago and Indianapolis, in the last 18 months and was getting stretched too thin.

“Springfield is the theater furthest from our home base – it’s a two-hour drive from Jefferson City, the next closest,” Goodrich said.

“As we looked at our portfolio, and knowing that Dickinson was looking to do something in Springfield, it just fit for us both.”

Goodrich added that even with Wallace Theater Holdings building the Hollywood Stadium 14 Cinemas in College Station in downtown Springfield, competition should not be a problem for Dickinson.

“For the size of the market, three multiplexes is not overdoing it. There have been multiple theaters in the past there,” Goodrich said. “I’m confident that Dickinson, as well as (Campbell 16 owner) Wehrenberg Theatres and Wallace, will do well.”

Developing IMAX

Dickinson has owned the IMAX rights for the Springfield market since March 2007. It also has rights in Oklahoma City; Mesa, Ariz.; Little Rock, Ark.; and Wichita, Kan.

Bella Films, a subsidiary of London-based Bella Media, had previously planned to build a Springfield IMAX theater in conjunction with expansion plans at Bass Pro Shops and Wonders of Wildlife, but those plans fell through when Bella pulled out of the arrangement in January 2007 due to funding.

The company has since dropped similar projects in California and Europe, according to public filings.

Hartley said IMAX screens typically gross two to three times the revenue of traditional screens with the same number of seats.

He added that his company has had success in Mesa, where it already has opened its IMAX screen.

“We continually sell out there,” he said. “We can’t offer enough seats when we have the right IMAX picture.”

Waiting in the wings

The fate of the 27 acres in Nixa, meanwhile, remains uncertain.

DJ Christie officials did not return calls seeking comment by press time. Nixa City Administrator Brian Bingle said that while he is unsure what DJ Christie plans to do with the property, he does know that the lack of development on the property is more than just a loss of potential business for Nixa – it also puts plans for the Highway CC expansion on hold.

The $2.5 million road project, which would have taken CC west of Lakeshore Drive and then south before turning west and creating a T intersection at Highway 160, does not have state funding; options to fund the road work had included a transportation development district connected to the theater development.[[In-content Ad]]