Great Escape preps for second movie theater

Published 12:00 am Thursday, May 13, 2004

Former Greenwood Six getting overhaul to house 10 screens, stadium seating, digital sound

Thursday, May 13, 2004

Demolition work has begun on the inside of the old Greenwood Six Theatre. By fall, the building will house 10 movie screens and claim the name Great Escape Theatre at Greenwood Mall, according to Steve Menschell, vice president of operations for Alliance Entertainment in New Albany, Ind. Alliance will lease the facility from Greenwood Malls parent company, making it the second Great Escape theater in town. The other Great Escape 12 was built about three years ago on Great Escape Court, just off Campbell Lane between U.S. 31-W By-Pass and U.S. 68-Ky. 80.Menschell said the company seized the opportunity to have a second theater in town when Carmike didnt renew the lease on the building where the equipment (most of which they removed) had fallen into disrepair. Carmike closed the theater in January and changed its other theater, Plaza 6 in Fairview Plaza, to $1 a show. Construction work on the theater will cost nearly $1.3 million to add the additional 5,500 square feet, make bathrooms handicap-accessible, and install new carpet and other items, according to city building inspector Glenn Burns. Burns gave the company the go-ahead to start demolition but still is reviewing the application for a construction permit. Menschell didnt have an estimate for other costs, which include the installation of stadium seating, digital sound and a new projection room. The theater also will have a game room similar to the one at Great Escape 12.We will have all the same amenities, Menschell said. Menschell said the company isnt worried about having two movie theaters on what is essentially the same thoroughfare. He predicts there will be more than enough business for both, as evidenced by how often Great Escape 12s parking lot is filled. Having two locations will be particularly beneficial when a blockbuster is released that requires more than one screen, as was the case with Mel Gibsons recent The Passion of the Christ, he said. There also have been some instances where the theater would have liked to have kept a film longer because of interest, but had to let it go because of new releases, Menschell said. This will allow us some flexibility, he said. There also is the potential to show some alternative or art films a couple of times a year. With work on the project already begun by Birmingham, Ala., contractor Gary C. Wyatt, construction is expected to be complete in the fall. Daily News ·813 College St. ·PO Box 90012 ·Bowling Green, KY ·42102 ·270-781-1700 

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