RYAN RANDAZZO
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
Posted: 2/3/2006
This is an artist’s rendering of the theater planned for Casino Fandango in Carson City. It will be on the west side of Curry Street, connected to the main casino via a pedestrian bridge.
People in the capital should have a new 10-screen movie theater by May 2007, according to plans announced Thursday by Casino Fandango and Galaxy Theaters.
The $10 million project will connect to the west side of the casino via a pedestrian bridge over Curry Street, officials said.
At 41,000 square feet, it will feature a digital projector along with all digital sound, wall-to-wall screens and luxury "rocker" seats.
"We look forward to bringing the finest, first-run films to Carson City," Galaxy President Rafe Cohen said in a press release.
"We use our theaters as community centers during the off-hours. We look forward to not only showing films but hosting business meetings, social events, and film festivals. With our digital projection system, we can even capture HDTV signals to show the latest television or sports programming on the big screen."
Galaxy officials said it will be the first digital theater in Northern Nevada, which film experts see as a novelty.
"Distributors are more keen on digital than film exhibitors," said Steve Savage, treasurer of the Great Basin Film Society. "It is a big expense to buy the new equipment."
He said most moviegoers should not notice obvious differences in digital exhibition, but it could have benefits.
"The great thing about digital is the thing isn't going to get scratched," Savage said. "If you get a piece of grit in the film gate, it won't put a big black or green scratch down the middle of the print."
On the other hand, "you might have weird things that happen, like when you are watching cable TV and the screen freezes, but I don't know. I imagine the new releases will come out in both (film and digital). Some like George Lucas are leading the way, making all "Star Wars" available in 35 mm and digital."
Galaxy is a private company, operating theaters in Austin, Texas; Monroe and Tacoma, Wash; Porterville, Riverbank and Tulare, Calif.; and plans one in Las Vegas.
The addition should boost traffic at the already busy Fandango, officials said.
"We did conduct research relative to gaming and the benefits to casinos, and obviously it made a lot of sense for us to have a theater in the casino," said Patrick Done, president of Olympia Development Corp., a related party of Carson Gaming, which owns Fandango with Navegante Group.
The project will require construction on the west side of the casino, a former office-supply store, Done said.
Carson has Northgate Movies 10 off Carson Street. The company expanded from four screens to 10 in late 1996.
Minden also has an 8-screen theater, and the South Lake Tahoe area has two -- one in the Horizon Casino and another at Heavenly Village.
Development for the rest of the 30 acres the casino owns west of Curry Street still is being planned, but could include a hotel, retail or homes, Done said.
In Las Vegas south of the Strip on Interstate 15, Olympia has developed the 2,000-acre Southern Highlands master-planned community, Done said. Part of that project is being zoned for a resort-casino, he said.
The Carson plans probably won't look much like Southern Highlands because of the size difference, he said.
"We have not gotten far enough along (planning in Carson) and Southern Highlands is in excess of 2,000 acres. There are a lot of elements to design."
Carson City officials were pleased with the announcement.
"Adding a first-class movie theater provides yet another entertainment experience for our growing community," Joe McCarthy, Carson City's economic development director, said in a press release. "We worked tirelessly to bring Galaxy Theatres to Carson City and are grateful to Casino Fandango for seeing the tremendous value in opening a theater at their property."
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