The recent debate over North Battleford's new zoning bylaw and official community plan has reignited an issue that has been brewing in the Battlefords for years.
That issue is the need for greater movie theatre options in the Battlefords.
Discussed has been the need for a new first-run movie theatre complex to either replace or complement the existing Capitol Theatre downtown on 100th Street.
The limitations of the Capitol are obvious. The most obvious is the size of the screens within the cinemas. Sadly, the facility is simply not built to offer movies in the wide-screen 3D format that movie patrons demand in the 21st century.
Because the existing facility is limited to only two screens, the selection of movies is limited. Movie fans in the Battlefords often feel they are missing out on the popular movies they see advertised.
It seems obvious the only acceptable solution for moviegoers in the Battlefords is for construction to begin on a new multiplex cinema that offers a minimum of five screens, offering full digital and 3D capacity and the most state-of-the-art sound quality.
Five screens is the least that moviegoers should expect. In Portage la Prairie, Man., with a smaller population, its Cinema Centre theatre expanded in recent years from three screens to five, even in the face of competition from bigger cinema chains in nearby Winnipeg. Cold Lake, Alta., also of similar size, offers five screens and 3D capacity. Lloydminster, only slightly larger, has a downtown cinema with six screens and 3D capacity.
The question is: why not here?
The current reality is that the lack of movie options in the Battlefords cannot go on. It is now a serious quality-of-life issue. Moreover, it has become a serious economic issue as well.
Movie fans in the Battlefords, desperate for a top-notch cinema experience, are forced to waste time and money going to Saskatoon. That is money that leaves the Battlefords and does not come back. Not only will those consumers spend money on the price of a movie ticket, but often they will spend money on food or shopping, not to mention gas.
Because they must spend money on fuel to begin with, those moviegoers inevitably have less money to spend on other things once they return to the Battlefords. This is the ultimate lose-lose scenario for everyone in the Battlefords.
While there has been plenty of talk about bringing a new cinema to the Battlefords and some recognition that things must change, there has been a woeful lack of progress. Now, changes to the zoning bylaw have been proposed that threaten the prospect of any change happening in the future.
The main complaint leveled at the proposed bylaw concerns zoning changes that would restrict movie theatres exclusively to the C1 commercial zone downtown. The concern is that new movie theatres would be prevented at other locations, such as near Frontier Mall, or in the city's north end.
We understand why the city would want a new movie theatre to go downtown; it would bring more people downtown and help revive the entire area. The issue is that downtown North Battleford is far from ideal as a location for a new cinema complex.
The main issue downtown is a lack of space. There are not many obvious locations to place a new, and sizable, multi-screen cinema downtown. But the even greater concern would be the need for such a facility to have available parking. That, unfortunately, is already in short supply in downtown North Battleford.
A third concern is a lack of amenities downtown. Investors in a new cinema complex will likely desire a location in proximity to restaurants, so potential customers could take advantage of options to go to dinner and then a movie afterwards.
Based on these factors, it seems obvious the ideal location for a new cinema in North Battleford is the southeast quadrant, not downtown. Anyone can tell the area has plenty of space, lots of available parking, and close proximity to shopping and restaurants such as Boston Pizza, Burger King, Pizza Hut, McDonalds and others.
The city's north end also seems a good location, with available land and proximity to shopping centres and a string of restaurants along 100th Street.
However, the plan by the City of North Battleford to try to limit potential theatre investment to downtown would quash these possibilities. This is concerning, given the fact that the overall trend in other cities in Saskatchewan is for movie cinemas to locate outside the downtown core.
Regina has several major cinemas located at shopping centres outside of downtown. In Moose Jaw, the Galaxy cinemas are located in a shopping centre in the city's north end, close to restaurants and available parking. In Prince Albert, its Galaxy cinemas are located in a shopping centre in the city's south end, close to restaurants and available parking.
Even in Saskatoon, where the Galaxy cinema is located in the downtown core, the complex is located close to Midtown Plaza and in proximity to many nearby restaurants.
But while paid parking is available, a lack of free parking is an obvious and growing concern there. And it should be noted Saskatoon has other cinemas in other parts of the city, particularly on the southeast side.
The concern we have is that City officials in North Battleford seem so hung up on city planning that they are losing sight of the fact that it is investment in the community that is needed. A new movie theatre would bring investment, new construction and create jobs. Moreover, such a cinema would provide jobs and entertainment options for young people in the community, which would attract families to the Battlefords, provide an alternative to keep kids off the streets and improve the quality of life for the people of this region.
Having a new first-run cinema complex will benefit the entire community, regardless of where it is located.
Investors should be given as much flexibility, and incentive if need be, to make this project happen. While it would be ideal in terms of downtown revitalization for a new cinema complex to be located downtown, sometimes you must pay heed to what potential investors are saying, doing and thinking. The focus should be not on your plans, but their needs.
The sooner a new first-run cinema is built, the sooner the existing Capitol Theatre building can be converted to other uses. It could continue as a second-run theatre offering movies at discount prices, or it could be used as a market place, a meeting hall, a church, or other adaptive-reuse possibilities that could help bring life back to the downtown.
We support investment in a new first-run theatre complex in the Battlefords, and we believe that the City's new zoning bylaw must allow for theatres in the downtown core, the southeast quadrant and the north end commercial area without restriction.
