Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Park Place movie theater hardly seems like itself

The lobby is airy. Seats are cushy. And the feeling of descending into a dungeon is gone because so's the escalator.

By ANNE LINDBERG
Published June 29, 2005

PINELLAS PARK - The change is stunning: A year ago, movie fans trudged up a hill in the parking lot to get to the ParkSide cineplex, then rode down an escalator to see a film. It was cramped and quirky.

Now moviegoers park in a nicely landscaped lot and enter the Park Place Stadium 16 through a spacious lobby with a soaring ceiling. It's all on one level. The escalator is gone.

It's hard to believe it's the same 16-screen multiplex.

Not only has the entrance moved to the north side of the building, but the concession stand and theaters also got a makeover. Included in the concession stand makeover are three new popcorn poppers, which account for the alluring smell of hot popcorn that permeates the concession area. Cinnabon cinnamon rolls are now on the menu.

In the theaters are new carpet, new lighting on the walls and handrails instead of the floor, and new seating. The stadium seats are extra cushy, with a place for purses between each seat. Each of them rocks. And the arms lift.

"You're not confined to one seat. Two people can get close," said Karen Lane, a spokeswoman for Regal Cinemas, which owns the multiplex. "This is the new wave of seats we're using."

On Sunday, folks crowded into the theaters to get a look at the changes and to enjoy $1 movies, popcorn and soft drinks.

The goals of the $1 event, which was repeated Monday, were multiple, Lane said.

It gave Regal a chance to donate to the community. The proceeds from the dollar movie and refreshment specials went to the St. Petersburg Times Newspaper in Education program and the Hillsborough County Anti-Drug Alliance.

Another goal was to allow folks to see the changes and give employees a chance to work out any bugs before today's grand opening.

For the most part, Sunday went exceedingly well, Lane said.

Hundreds of people had called the theater in advance, wondering when it would reopen. And those hundreds showed up Sunday beginning about 9:30 a.m. (The first show began a bit after noon.) The doors opened at 10:45 a.m., and by 11:45 a.m., lines had formed at the concession area. By 2 p.m., it was hard to find a parking spot and some of the movies had sold out.

The lines continued throughout the day.

For the most part, the day went well. But there were a few glitches. One man caught his foot on the new carpeting in one theater and spilled his popcorn. The bathrooms backed up and toilets refused to flush. One theater had projection problems, and the movie began a few minutes late.

But, for the most part, moviegoers were thrilled to have the cineplex open again.

"It looks great," said Kevin McBride.

McBride, his wife, Shelley, and her two children, Marissa and Nick Mastronardi, are true movie lovers. They generally see two to four movies a weekend.

"It's what we do," Kevin McBride said.

"People think we're a little bit eccentric," Shelley McBride said.

For the most part, they go to the Pinellas Park theater. So when the multiplex closed so the mall around it could be razed to make way for the Shoppes at Park Place shopping center, they were crushed.

They even came to the last show before the theater closed. It was "corny, but that's the way it was," they said.

They've spent the intervening months at BayWalk and Oldsmar, which is near relatives.

But they were eager for Park Place to open again. They called the theater to see if the message had changed. They scanned newspaper articles.

"My husband would drive by periodically checking on the progress," Shelley McBride said.

Now that Park Place has reopened, the McBrides said they plan to do almost all of their movie watching there. Oldsmar will still get some of their business when they're in North Pinellas visiting relatives.

Also pleased to have the theater reopen was Bob Welch. Like the McBrides, he lives nearby.

"This is convenient, very convenient," Welch said.

He was planning on watching Hostage on Sunday and thought he might return Monday to see Sahara. Park Place, he said, will get most of his business in the future.

"Oh, gosh, yes," Welch said. "I hate the parking at BayWalk, and Tyrone is almost unbelievable."

While folks packed the theater Sunday and Monday, it was closed again Tuesday. This time, the daylong closing allowed VIPs, such as Pinellas Park Mayor Bill Mischler, to attend a reception and ticket tearing (rather than a ribbon cutting).

Park Place will hold its official grand opening today with War of the Worlds at 11:45 a.m. Also showing will be Bewitched, Herbie: Fully Loaded, Batman Begins, The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl in 3D, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Cinderella Man, The Longest Yard, Madagascar, Crash and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.

With the remainder of the mall property, 7200 U.S. 19 N, still under construction, the only entrances are on the Park Boulevard side. One is at the Applebee's. The other is a bit east of that on the exit ramp from Park to U.S. 19.

[Last modified June 29, 2005, 04:43:54]