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Posted on Tue, Apr. 23, 2002 |
By Bob Fernandez and Carrie Rickey Inquirer Staff Writer
The University of Pennsylvania has resurrected plans for a six-screen movie theater at 40th and Market Streets that had the backing of Robert Redford until his financial partner filed for bankruptcy protection in 2000.
The university said yesterday that it had signed a lease agreement with National Amusements Inc., the private company controlled by Sumner Redstone, another big name in the entertainment industry. The six-screen theater is scheduled to open in November and to include free parking for patrons at a nearby 10-story Penn parking garage.
National Amusements also will offer patrons reserved seating, digital projection, and expanded concessions at the theater, which is named the Bridge: Cinema De Lux. Shari E. Redstone, president of National Amusements, said the Bridge should "personalize moviegoing in ways other theaters do not." For instance, a concierge will be available "so patrons can get advice on which movie to see," she said.
Right now, the bookings "will be a mix of mainstream fare and art films," Redstone said, "but that could change with the demands of the audience. Our booking policy is a work in progress." She said ticket prices might be a little higher than the regional norm of $8. National Amusements is conducting an analysis of what the Philadelphia market would bear, she said.
National Amusements opened the first "Bridge" movie house in Los Angeles last summer, and this will be the second. Shari Redstone is the daughter of Sumner Redstone, who is chairman of National Amusements and Viacom Inc., which owns CBS, Paramount Pictures, MTV, Nickelodeon and Blockbuster.
National Amusements operates 1,400 movie screens in the United States, United Kingdom and South America. Four years ago, Penn signed as partners General Cinema and Redford for the multiplex project. Redford's Sundance Cinemas was to be the first of its kind and include such services as a child-care center for theater patrons, an art gallery, a bar, cafe, video "library," jazz club and newsstand. But the project collapsed after General Cinema filed for bankruptcy protection, leaving Penn saddled with a partially constructed building in the heart of an area of West Philadelphia that it was attempting to revitalize.
After this setback, Penn was clearly relieved to find a viable partner in National Amusements. "We are delighted they picked us," said Omar Blaik, vice president of facilities and real estate services at Penn. "God bless them, they are going to operate this. . . . There is no uncertainty as to the economics of the deal." Blaik said the General Cinema bankruptcy forced Penn to restructure the financial terms of the project, although he did not provide details. He said it cost the University $50 million to build the movie house as well as a supermarket and parking garage on the opposite corner of 40th and Walnut Streets.
National Amusements will outfit the movie house with fixtures, carpeting and other interior wares, Blaik said. The company has signed a contract to operate the movie theater for 15 years, he said. Blaik said National Amusements expects to sell about 600,000 movie tickets a year at Penn. Penn views the supermarket, the parking garage and the theater as the anchor of a revitalization of the 40th Street corridor as it pushes its campus and influence westward.