PORTLANDA state-of-the-art, eight-screen movie theater is scheduled to be built here on Buddy Ganem Drive west of Highway 181, which will further complement growth in the area. The project is being developed by Jeff Dinger, a 30-year resident of Rockport, who plans to open the multi-million dollar theater next summer.
This will be a highly competitive regional theater that will be well-placed to serve all of the communities north of the Harbor Bridge, said Mr. Dinger. He said the 30,000-square foot facility will have big-city amenities with small-town management to reflect the market from which it draws. Those amenities will include approximately 1,300 seats, all-stadium seating, all-digital sound, state-of-the-art projection equipment, and wall-to-wall, high-gain screens.
City officials expressed enthusiasm for the new theater. Portland residents have wanted a movie theater for a long, long time. Its exciting to see their desires are finally being met, said City Manager Mike Tanner. Jeff Dinger, our newest development partner, realizes like many others (Wal-Mart, Chilis and Long John Silvers) that Portland is destined to be the major retail and restaurant location on the North Shore, he went on to say.
Mr. Dinger said the new theater is in a prime location not only to serve Portland residents but those in surrounding communities as well. North of the bridge, communities tend to look at themselves provincially but really theyre all basically the same. Thats what this theater is going to capture. He said he hopes to eventually expand the Portland theater to first 10 screens and then 12 screens.
Mr. Dinger, who has been in the movie theater business for 27 years, said he is going to run the Portland theater in conjunction with the Cinema 4 theater he opened in Rockport in 1997. Prior to that, he operated Cinema 35 in Rockport as well as theaters in Austin. He said he is looking forward to this new venture. Ive wanted to open a theater in Portland for a long time and now the time is right.
