Mohegan Sun's Expansion Put on Hold

UNCASVILLE, CT-The Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority is planning to delay a large capital spending component in the Project Horizon expansion of Mohegan Sun. A statement cites the ongoing economic recession affects on regional gaming markets as the cause of the interruption.

The components that will be suspended are the Earth Expansion and the adjacent parking garage. The complex consists of Casino of the Earth, Casino of the Sky, Casino of the Wind, Sunrise Square, the Shops at Mohegan Sun, along with a 10,000-seat arena, a 350-seat cabaret theatre and 100,000 sf of meeting and convention space. There is also a 1,200-room Sky Hotel Tower. The Project Horizon project included costs spent on different parts of the complex with $17 million to Sunrise Square, $116 million for Casino of the Wind, $58 million for Property Infrastructure and $75 million has already been spent on Earth Expansion and $5 million on the parking garage. By halting the expansion now, the project will save $734 million. . . . more

Curtain will close on two cinemas

National Amusements Inc. said yesterday that it will shutter two theaters in the Boston area in September because the locations are no longer financially viable. The Dedham-based movie chain plans to close the Showcase Cinemas Lawrence 1-6 on Monday and the Circle Cinemas in Brookline will close for business after the last show on Sept. 7. The private company said it would try to find positions at its other locations for the 51 employees affected by the closings.

"We watch all of our theaters closely," Wanda Whitson, the company's spokeswoman, told the Globe yesterday, "and make every effort to keep them as viable operating businesses. Once they are no longer viable, we make the decision to close them."

The closings come at a time when many Massachusetts movie theaters are hurting as a result of competition from DVDs and the rise of home movie theater systems. According to the National Association of Theatre Owners, there were 112 movie theaters in Massachusetts last year, down from 117 locations in 2005. To attract moviegoers, some theaters are adding more amenities. For its part, National Amusements is trying to turn some if its theaters into entertainment complexes where people come to do more than just watch movies. Earlier this month, National Amusements opened the Showcase Cinema de Lux at Patriot Place, a 14-screen upscale theater in Foxborough that offers a lounge with a full bar and in-seat dining. Another theater following this same concept is being built in Dedham at Legacy Place and is slated to open next year. And a 12-screen theater is being built at the vacated Macy's building at the Westgate Mall in Brockton.

National Amusements, which operates more than 1,500 theaters worldwide, including 15 locations in Massachusetts, also plans to expand overseas. Employees at the two theaters that are closing received a short, four-sentence memo Friday about the closings. In the memo passed out at Circle Cinemas, Jose M. Perez, the theater's managing director, wrote with a "heavy heart" about the closing of Circle Cinemas.

"Please note that this decision is in no way a reflection of the hard work and dedication you have all shown over the years," Perez wrote. The six-screen Showcase Cinemas Lawrence 1-6 opened in June 1965, and is located a short distance from its counterpart, Showcase Cinemas Lawrence 7-14. The larger, eight-screen theater will remain open. Circle Cinemas, which has seven screens, opened in November 1965. Circle Cinemas employs 21 workers and Showcase Cinemas Lawrence 1-6 has 30 employees. "Our employees are very important to us, and this is not a decision we make lightly," Whitson said.

Source: Boston.com

Redstone sees a new market niche in live venue

In her black leather jacket with "Patriot Place" stitched in red and blue on the front, National Amusements president Shari Redstone linked arms yesterday with her new partners Robert and Jonathan Kraft at a glitzy press conference to launch Showcase Live.

In August, the new state-of-the-art live entertainment venue will open at the Krafts' shopping extravaganza, Patriot Place, next to Gillette Stadium. The new venue will have 500 seats, dinner service, and acts from Chaka Khan to Dave Brubeck to Boyz II Men. Redstone, 54, has focused on reinventing the Dedham movie business and quieting family clashes that spilled into the public after a critical letter by her media mogul father Sumner Redstone was posted to Forbes's website. In the letter, Sumner Redstone lashed out against his daughter over issues of succession and the future of the cinema chain. Shari Redstone spoke with the Globe at yesterday's event.

Q. There are tons of music and entertainment venues around New England. How does Showcase Live fill a niche?
A. It's going to be a much more sophisticated, intimate, and luxurious environment than exists anywhere else. The experience is going to be at a much higher VIP level. VIP packages will include concierge services and reserved tables for events.

Q.Why is live entertainment necessary for National Amusements?
A. There isn't any movie theater business out there today that doesn't have to re invent itself. We've been successful in what we've done in the theaters by bringing alternative programming and by bringing live entertainment. The feedback we've gotten from live entertainment is that people really love it, and that was where we came up with this idea for a live music-comedy venue.

Q. Why Patriot Place?
A. We spent a lot of time looking at what would be the ideal first location to launch the project, and of course, there's nothing more well-known and more prominent and more accessible in the area than Patriot Place in Foxborough.

Q. Cinema chains like National Amusements make most of their money from concessions. Will the Showcase Live business model be the same?
A. A lot of revenue will come from concessions, and that's why it's really important to us to provide great food, to have signature cocktails, and to really make it a place people will want to go to all the time, not just to see the great talent but to have a wonderful dining experience.

Q. How does Showcase Live fit in with the overall long-term vision of the cinema business?
A. I'm looking at creating entertainment destinations within our theaters right now and this would be a wonderful adjunct to that business. We will be looking at it as a stand-alone business and you might see Showcase Live where you don't see one of our Cinema De Lux theaters. And I look at expanding not only domestically but around the world. This would be a great concept for Russia and South America where people love entertainment, they love to go out in the evenings. We look at this as our flagship, but also an opportunity to learn and figure out where we could take it next.

Q. Would you consider converting cinemas into Showcase Live venues?
A. It would really be hard to re-create this merely by retrofitting an existing auditorium. That doesn't mean that we wouldn't add a new facility to a place where we have an existing theater. But to do this right, we really need to build it from scratch.

Q. Your father has long expressed doubts over the long-term viability of the movie business. What does he think about this new venture?
A. I'm sure that he'd be really proud of what we're doing here today. We're reinventing the business and doing everything that we can to not only ensure the success in what we do, but getting involved in new concepts and building new businesses and continuing the success of the company that was started by my grandfather.

Q. How do you feel about your father's critical letter that was posted to Forbes's website last summer?
A. I'm not going to comment on any personal relationship issues.

Q. Is your father still trying to negotiate a buyout of your 20 percent stake in National Amusements?
A. I'm not going to comment on any personal business issues.

Q. When was the last time you saw your father?
A. You don't want to keep asking me questions that I'm not going to answer.

Q. The popular video game Grand Theft Auto IV is being unveiled this week and could be the most lucrative launch in entertainment history, beating out any movie debut. How does that make you feel, being in the movie business?
A. I used to say when I first came into this business that I was competing with other movie theaters. Then I realized I was competing with all out-of-home entertainment. Then I realized I was competing with out-of-home entertainment and in-home entertainment. And now I'm competing for people's time. The video game business is something that's strong and certainly something our patrons are very interested in. But that is why we are focused on giving our patrons a compelling reason to go to the movie theaters. That is why we provide a VIP experience, why we have luxe level service, so people can have martinis and food in the auditoriums. That is why we have Showcase Live. We know we have a lot of competition out there and we don't stay there with our head in the sand.

Source: Boston.com