25-Screen Theater Complex Planned for Drive-In Site

Century Theaters is planning a 25-screen theater complex with stores and restaurants on the site of the Stadium Drive-In on Katella Avenue, Mayor Joanne Coontz revealed Friday in her annual State of the City address.

Interim City Manager David L. Rudat said that Century Theaters informed city officials this week of its intentions.

The cinema chain, based in the Bay Area, is drafting plans for the complex, which would open in the spring of 1997, Rudat said.

The city will appoint a liaison to work with the company on site plans, Rudat said. “We promised them an expeditious project.”

With that development and others in the works, Coontz said, the city will give Disneyland and other entertainment centers some serious competition in the months ahead.

“We’re going to give the mouse a run for his money,” she said. “A number of economic projects are planned or in negotiation, and be assured that economic development will continue to be a major thrust of this council.”

Another large project, which probably will begin this fall, is a $150-million redevelopment of The City Shopping Center. The high-tech entertainment and shopping center would be a major draw, Coontz said, attracting millions of customers a year.

The city also had a spate of good publicity for events such as the Mark & Brian pre-Thanksgiving Day parade and the filming of a Tom Hanks movie, “That Thing You Do.” The movie and the parade attracted 30,000 visitors, Coontz estimated.

“This not only benefits the business community, it also benefits the entire community when customers spend their dollars in our city,” she said.