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Wait over soon for region's filmgoers

Marquee Cinemas Inc. plans to give central Pasco its first movie theater as early as 2007.

By JAMES THORNER
Published May 29, 2005

WESLEY CHAPEL - Central Pasco County, a growing suburb still without a movie theater, is getting a 14-screen cinema complex as early as 2007.

Marquee Cinemas Inc. has announced plans to open at the Shops at Wiregrass, a proposed 750,000-square-foot shopping center at State Road 56 and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard.

The complex would feature 2,500 stadium-style reclining seats, Dolby surround sound and expanded concessions with fast food entries beyond popcorn and candy.

Marquee's announcement came two days after Wiregrass confirmed a Dillard's department store would open at the same center in late 2007. The first store in the shopping center, a JCPenney, is under construction.

Marquee tried to break into the Tampa Bay area market in 2004 with the purchase of the former Hollywood 20 cinema on Van Dyke Road in Lutz. That deal fell through, and Marquee scoped out sites farther north.

"You've got such a growing population down there in Florida, and with the hot weather most of the time, most people go to movie theaters for relaxation," said David Beauregard, director of real estate for the West Virginia theater chain.

Marquee operates 380 screens in 23 theaters in 13 states, from West Virginia to Florida. It's among the smaller theater chains. Cape Coral is its only other Florida location.

Two other large shopping centers proposed for central Pasco - Cypress Creek Town Center and the Grove at Wesley Chapel - also have pitched cinemas.

No names have been confirmed, but possibilities include the country's two biggest chains, Regal Cinemas (6,273 screens) and AMC Theaters (3,500 screens).

"Those guys are tops," Beauregard said of Regal and AMC. "We're probably 25th in the country."

The Shops at Wiregrass is part of a 5,000-acre mixed-use development that promises 16,000 homes, a community college, a hospital, offices and stores.

[Last modified May 28, 2005, 09:58:04]