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Will season ticket holders get priority?By MARK ALBRIGHT © St. Petersburg Times, published October 30, 2000 About the only way to get good seats for a hot movie these days is to show up early, stand in line and make a run for it. That might not be the case much longer. Muvico Theaters Inc. of Fort Lauderdale hopes to offer reserved seating in the not-too-distant future. Imagine good seats even if you arrive moments before show time. Rows and seats in Muvico theaters are built with assigned numbers for one reason. "We're getting prepared to take reservations, but there is a lot of work involved,including developing the software," said Jim Lee, Muvico marketing manager. "We think it's going to be the future once ticket sales over the Internet become more common." Muvico, which has built its reputation on elaborate, one-of-a-kind theaters reminiscent of cinemas past, deployed automated ticket machines by the doors at its three theaters in the Tampa Bay area. Muvico's fourth area theater, which opens Nov. 17 in St. Petersburg's BayWalk, will be no different. The machines print tickets up to five days in advance of a show time with the swipe of a credit card, making it possible to dodge the box office lines. Patrons also can order tickets on the Internet and pick them up at the automated ticket dispenser. Eventually, the machines will spit out tickets for reserved seats, but Muvico won't sell reserved seats at the box office for fear of slowing lines. The missing ingredient at this point is an online schematic of the chain's auditorium seating charts to keep track of reserved seat sales, Lee said.
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From the Times Business report
From the AP
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