Bricktown movie theater designs unveiled

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), May 21, 2003 by Matt Maile

A proposed 16-screen movie theater planned to open in Bricktown next year will feature a soaring glass-enclosed lobby, granite interior surfaces and an oversized snack bar, under preliminary designs presented to Oklahoma City officials Tuesday.

Wayne Kullander, executive vice president of Harkins Theatres, told the Urban Renewal Authority the 3,400-seat movie theater will be unique to Oklahoma. The first theater constructed by Harkins outside of Arizona, the cinema will be a showpiece for the theater operator, he said.

"I can unequivocally say that we're going to be building the finest, state-of-the-art theater in the state of Oklahoma," he said.

Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Harkins Theatres agreed in April to a long- term lease to develop and operate a 16-screen movie theater complex in Bricktown. The theater will be located beside the Bricktown Canal on land on the south side of E. Reno Avenue and between Oklahoma and Stiles avenues.

On Tuesday, Harkins Theatres unveiled the first concept drawings for the proposed theater. The building will be constructed of tilt- up walled concrete with a pre-cast brick painted veneer on some surfaces. A 10-foot band of red brick will surround the building's lower level faade in keeping with the Bricktown theme.

Concept drawings show the front of the theater with a large glass- enclosed lobby that will be illuminated by neon lights.

Inside, the ticket booths, lobby floors and concession area will have polished granite surfaces. And above the concession stand, a movie screen will air motion picture trailers of the featured films.

In a feature not common to many movie theaters, Kullander said the Bricktown cinema will offer child-care services for parents who want to drop off their children before watching a movie. Licensed child- care professionals will watch children ages 3 to 9 in the play center for the cost of a movie ticket.

The cinema also will feature one oversized snack bar built to accommodate large numbers of customers. Foods offered at the snack bar will include the usual soft drinks and popcorn but also pizza, ice cream, hot dogs and other foods.

"We want to give everyone a real selection of products," Kullander said.

Kullander said he does not know when the construction of the movie theater would begin. Bricktown Developer Randy Hogan estimated the work on the theater could begin by fall.

Harkins officials want the theater operational by Memorial Day in 2004, Kullander said. But, he said, that date could be put off, if necessary.

Developers said construction will start when the Urban Renewal Authority approves the necessary construction plans. The company also must coordinate its construction with improvements to the canal and parking areas that will border the cinema.

In general, Kullander said construction would take 10 to 11 months to complete from the groundbreaking.

Tiana Douglas, executive director of the Urban Renewal Authority, said the designs appeared to take into account the Bricktown theme.

"What Harkins has done is to include elements that say this is Bricktown but also lets you know this is a theater," she said.

If completed, the cinema would join the new Bass Pro Shops store now under construction to the east of the theater as the second major anchor attraction for visitors to the Bricktown Canal. The theater complex and the Bass Pro development are expected to each attract more than 1 million visitors to Bricktown each year and expand pedestrian traffic along the canal's eastern end.

Hogan received approval from the Oklahoma City Council in late April to reduce the size of the theater development from at least 104,000 square feet to at least 74,000 square feet. The actual theater will take in an area of about 78,000 square feet, he said.

Although the cinema will offer 16 movie screens, not all will be of equal size. The theater will offer one oversized movie screen that will span 70 feet in width for popular movies. The largest theater will have 600 stadium-style seats.