Theaters in Springfield, Ozark see delays

It could be a while before the credits roll on two southwest Missouri movie theater projects.

A theater expansion in Springfield has been pushed back, while plans for a new theater in downtown Ozark have been scrapped.

Market causes

Overland Park, Kan.-based Dickinson Theatres, owner of the Springfield 8 cinema, is delaying its plans to renovate the east Springfield theater at 3200 E. Montclair St.

Dickinson - which built the Springfield 8 in 1990 - repurchased the property in May from Goodrich Quality Theaters and announced plans for a $3 million renovation project that would include remodeling the eight existing theaters and adding a 7,000-square-foot IMAX theater with seating for 475. But Dickinson Chief Financial Officer Al Lane said those plans have been put on hold.

"Due to the credit markets, the project has slowed in its pace," Lane said. "We're trying to get it done as soon as we can, and we've gone forward with drawing up the plans."

It's not the first IMAX delay for Dickinson in southwest Missouri.

The company was originally partnering with Kansas City developer DJ Christie Inc. to include an IMAX in a 27-acre development in Nixa. That project fell through due to sinkholes on the property.

Dickinson owns IMAX rights in the Springfield market, however, and Lane said the company plans to eventually move ahead with the Springfield 8 remodel.

"We think it's an exceptionally good market for IMAX - that's the reason we bought that theater back," Lane said.

There is no timetable in place for the project, but he said he "would like to see it happen within the next year."

Setback in Ozark

The theater outlook is not so positive in Ozark, where Liberty-based B&B Theatres had planned to build an eight-screen multiplex as part of the downtown Finley River Redevelopment District.

That project is now off the table, as the city and district developer, Michigan-based Plazacorp Realty Advisors Inc., couldn't finalize development details quickly enough to allow B&B to open a downtown theater by its May 2010 deadline.

"We've been working with them on this site for a little over a year, and they've always had a deadline of May 2010 to be open," said Ben Yore, Plazacorp's vice president of leasing and acquisitions. "This downtown project has been very complex in terms of the different funding sources that have to be utilized to make this financially feasible, and our time has run out."

The city and Plazacorp have been negotiating possible tax breaks and incentives, including the potential for additional sales tax in the district.

City Administrator Steve Childers said that, although the theater company will not be a part of the downtown development, a new B&B theater in Ozark is not out of the question.

"We know that B&B is willing to stay in Ozark. They have identified other possible sites, and that is what we are focused on," Childers said. "If we can find another location and we can generate new revenue for the city, whether it's downtown or somewhere else, I want new revenue."

Plazacorp brought B&B Theatres to the area, and Yore said his company is working to find a suitable alternative location in Ozark. Yore declined to disclose specific locations being considered, but he said his first priority at the moment is finding an Ozark theater location.

"My hope is that in the next 30 days we can get this movie theater project in place," Yore said, "and then we'll have some time to re-evaluate the downtown site."

As for the overall downtown development project, Childers said city officials plan to meet with the developer in coming weeks to see how its plans for the area will change without its proposed anchor tenant.

"(The theater) was a huge draw and one of the main reasons we were pushing forward with the project," Yore said. "That put us behind the eight-ball. Without a movie theater as an anchor, this project needs to be totally reworked."[[In-content Ad]]