Kansas City’s I-70 faces uncertain future

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I-70 Drive-In Theater signThe Kansas City (MO) Business Journal ran a nice long article yesterday talking about the drive-in theater situation in the KC metropolitan area. Business is booming at all three surviving drive-ins, but two of them are facing the decision on whether to go digital or close when film runs out. Those two, Kansas City’s I-70 and the Twin in Independence MO, are both owned by Darryl Smith.

The article doesn’t mention this, but before Smith’s time, the I-70 was one of the first drive-ins to carve up its lot to add extra screens to give patrons more choices. Now they’re seeing the downside of having so many projectors; to replace the four at the I-70 plus the pair at the Twin will cost the better part of a half million dollars.

That decision would be easy if business was drying up, but instead, “July sales for the I-70 Drive-In were close to twice what they’d averaged over the last five years.” But will that be enough to cover such a huge expense? Smith is hoping that Honda’s Project Drive-In will tip the answer his way; the I-70 is one of the drive-ins competing for votes to win a new digital projector.

The KC Business Journal story included a fun side note about the Boulevard across the border in Kansas City KS. Not only was it an early converter to digital, the Boulevard claims to be the first drive-in to install a 4K projector. Since it was installed over a year ago, “attendance has shot through the roof, similar to the figures drive-in theaters reached in the 1960s. … The projector has more than paid for itself, even though the theater operates only Thursday through Sunday from April to October.” Let’s hope that Smith reads that part of the story and finds the cash to keep his drive-ins running for decades to come.

Hi-Way 50 to reopen next season

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HiWay50_FacebookHere’s another sign of hope. Our last, brief mention of the Hi-Way 50 in Lewiston TN was that its owner had retired and shut down the place. Now comes word from the Marshall County Tribune that Steve and Danielle Wakham, residents of nearby Lewisburg, have purchased the Hi-Way 50 and plan to renovate it in time to open in 2014.

According to the Tribune, the Wakhams “plan to open with digital equipment from the start. Visitors to the drive-in can also expect to see new bathrooms, new paint, and a brand new menu.” The article also noted that the screen tower “is one of the few remaining screens that were typical in the early days of outdoor movie theaters.” You can see what they mean in the photo I’ve borrowed from the Hi-Way 50’s Facebook page. What do you call that style with the thick borders around the screen and support legs on either side?

And that Facebook page looks like it’s the place to go for Hi-Way 50 status updates. The first post after the sale offered a welcome dose of enthusiasm: “Hello everyone, we’re honored to be the new owners of the Drive in and keep an old tradition alive. The Douglas family has put countless hours over the last 20 years and if not for them it very well could have closed up like most of the others around. Thank you Douglas family!” Thank you Wakhams for keeping the Hi-Way 50 alive!

Great times at the Rodeo

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rodeo_URLThere’s a type of newspaper article that I read all the time, often once per year per newspaper. It’s the fun summer article that says, in effect, “Hey, have you readers noticed that we still have a drive-in theater near here? I went, and it turns out that it’s lots of fun!” I suspect that they’re often written by summer interns, but you never know.

Of course, you already know about the unmatched experience that is a trip to the drive-in, but sometimes it can be fun to see how others discover it. All of which is a long-winded way of saying that you might be interested in the Central Kitsap (WA) Reporter’s story last week about the Rodeo Drive-In near Bremerton.

The best news is that the Rodeo has made the transition to digital, a $250,000 investment according to owner Jack Ondracek. “We’ve known this project was coming for 10 years,” he said. “We’ve been planning for this for a long time. We bought and paid for this with the support of our customers.”

There’s a lot of fun discussion with Ondracek and Rodeo patrons, so you really ought to go read it!

After you’re done with the article, head over to the Rodeo’s web site. It’s got some interesting regional history, lots of nice photos, and a great quote at the end of the All About Us page: “Drive-in theatres are special places, with a nostalgic atmosphere that can’t be found in an indoor theatre.”