Hollywood is no closer to North Dakota, but Jamestown may see more celebrities here soon, at least on the silver screen.
Six new movie screens are set to open in Jamestown next summer, Investors Real Estate Trust announced Friday. IRET owns the Buffalo Mall where the new theaters will be located. IRET said its operating partnership, IRET Properties, will construct the theaters.
The cost of the project is about $2.1 million and construction should begin within 60 days.
Current theater operator Lyman Keim said the new theaters will have digital surround sound and stadium seating. Currently, only one theater has digital surround sound, Keim said.
The new theaters will be different sizes, some holding as few as 77 seats and others with the capacity to hold 200.
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The updates are a dream many years in the making, Keim said.
"We've been planning it for 10 years," he said.
The six screens will allow for a greater variety of shows which can remain in town longer.
The new complex is nameless for now, but movie goers can close the curtain on Jamestown's current theaters, Cinema Twin and Bison Twin. The new screens will be located at Buffalo Mall, but on the east side of the building where Unison Bank and Vanity reside. The mall is looking to relocate Unison Bank, Vanity and the American Association of University Women's bookstore within the mall itself, said Deb Thompson, general manager.
Buffalo Mall customers can expect business as usual at the current store locations within the mall. Construction should not impact shopping, she said. And the temporary kiosks and store fronts which locate at the mall during the holiday season should remain the same as well, Thompson said.
"It should not have an impact on customer shopping," she said.
At least not the convenience factor.
The new theater may increase the number of consumers and perhaps their spending habits too. To attend a show, movie goers must walk through the mall first, Thompson said.
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The schedule of the six shows is staggered, she noted. So consumers will come and go throughout the day.
Thompson said the new screens are a win-win situation for the theater, the current mall vendors and Jamestown as well. She said the new theaters may even encourage new vendors within the mall or even a restaurant or food service provider.
"The enhancements that they're bringing is what the public has been wanting," she said.
Ticket prices may increase, Keim said, but will remain less expensive than the cost of a show in Fargo or Bismarck. Keim said with the theaters, concessions should expand too, offering a greater variety of items like nachos and mini doughnuts.
Keim said he hopes to open by May 1.
Sun reporter Katie Ryan-Anderson can be reached at 701-952-8454 or by e-mail at kryan@jamestownsun.com
