SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - The Megaplex Theatres is acquiring eleven movie complexes from Westates Theatres as part of an on-going expansion initiative.
According to Megaplex spokesman Jeff Whipple, several Westates locations in Logan, Cedar City, and St. George, Utah, as well as one location in Mesquite, Nevada will be transitioned into Megaplex Theatre complexes over the next several months.
Tony Rudman founded Westates in 1958 with the single screen Davis Drive-In Theatre in Layton Utah, and then grew Westates to over 100 movie screens in 25 theatre locations prior to his death in 2010, according to Whipple.
Whipple said Megaplex will look at upgrading most of the theaters, including options to convert film projectors into digital equipment over the coming months.
The acquisition includes the following theatre complexes:
Providence Stadium 8
Logan, Utah
University Stadium 6
Logan, Utah
Logan Movies 5
Logan, Utah
Cedar City Stadium 8
Cedar City, Utah
Cedar City Fiddler 6
Cedar City, Utah
Pineview Stadium 10
St. George, Utah
Sunset Stadium 8
St. George, Utah
Washington Red Cliffs 4
St. George, Utah
St. George Cinema 6
St. George, Utah
St. George Flood Street 4
St. George, Utah
Stadium 6
Mesquite, Nevada
The purchase includes 71 total screens, with a seating capacity for nearly 12,000 people.
Whipple said that all qualified Weststates employees at the acquired locations will be offered positions at Megaplex, and that the purchase will create more than 300 new positions.
Whipple said that the acquisition is part of a larger expansion program currently underway at Megaplex Theatres. In the past three years, Megaplex Theatres has grown from 70 screens in Utah to more than 150 screens in Utah and Nevada. The company is currently building a new theatre complex at Valley Fair Mall in West Valley City, due to open in late 2012. Construction is also underway for two new auditoriums at Jordan Commons in Sandy at the former site of the Mayan Adventure restaurant. A new VIP auditorium opened at Jordan Commons in March, 2012.
Westates will continue to operate theatre complexes in Elko, Nevada; Page, Arizona; Montpelier, Idaho; and Holladay, Utah.
----Information from: Megaplex Theatres.
