Sacramento, CA —Nov 16, 2007
Great Escapes and Barco debut in Digital Cinema Grand Opening
Digital cinema pioneer Barco is proud to announce that Great Escapes Theatres chose Barco exclusively for its brand new Harrisburg complex located at the Harrisburg Mall in Pennsylvania.
Great Escapes Theatres, a division of Alliance Entertainment, Inc., opened their new 14-plex in Harrisburg, PA last week with a full complement of Barco digital cinema projectors. It is the first all-digital complex for the company, according to Chance Ragains, Chief Operating Officer. “We are enjoying a mix of Barco 2K projectors. Our large 60-foot screen has an amazing amount of light, as do our two 3-D auditoriums,” Mr. Ragains explains, “and we are excited about the opening of Beowulf in 3-D this weekend.”
The newly constructed cinema opened 8 November to a full house of VIPs and local celebrities who were enthusiastic to see the city’s first all-digital entertainment complex. Terri Westhafer, Director of Business Development for Barco, attended the opening. “It is truly a beautiful theatre with impressive upgrades throughout,” she says, “and the Ragains have made quite a commitment to embrace digital cinema so fully. The complex features numerous advances in ticketing and concession offerings as well as a single, expansive projection booth to serve all 14 auditoriums. And, of course, the projection systems are state-of-the-art. Barco is very pleased to be a part of Great Escapes’ innovations today and in the future.”
About Great Escapes (a division of Alliance Entertainment, Inc.)
The corporate philosophy of Alliance has been simple and effective – build a quality, cost efficient movie theatre in underserved markets and the audience will come. As one of the fastest growing and most successful movie chains in the country, Alliance has focused on the mid-sized markets with populations from 100,000 to 400,000.
“The very first theatre we opened was in Bedford, IN (population of 13,768),” said Anne Ragains, President & CEO of Alliance Management and Alliance Entertainment. “The market was very underserved and the community and people responded enthusiastically. Critics had warned me that people in a smaller, rural community wouldn’t appreciate a top notch movie theatre and I was happy to prove them wrong. In fact, we’ve had tremendous success by serving those communities that the larger chains overlook. We are proud of the fact that our movie theatres become a point of destination that spurs economic growth and development. I firmly believe that everyone deserves the best movie going experience possible and we try our best to exceed patron expectations.”
