(EDITOR’S NOTE: This is one in a series of articles about the development of a new downtown theater in Great Bend.)

In an extreme instance of understatement, Mayor Mike Allison observed the development of a six-theater downtown motion picture project is a big deal for the community.
Allison stressed that big deal — the development of Golden Belt Cinema 6, planned for Lakin and Kansas — could be one of the biggest deals the community has experienced in a long, long time.
The mayor noted that pretty much every economic development plan for the community for years has included the need for a new theater, and the community was excited this past year when local businessmen Dennis Call and Chad Sommers invested about a half million dollars in purchasing and renovating the current triple theater on west 10th Street.
Call and Sommers told the council Monday night this next step will be an even larger investment and will be a huge step towards making the community an important destination for this region of the state.
Call explained the plan is for there to be new construction for a smaller facility for Bank of the West, as the south end of the block, where the part of the current parking lot is located.
Then the current bank building will be demolished and the new six-screen theater will be constructed.
He explained there will be three sizes of theaters in the development, from one large theater to the smaller, which will still seat about 70.
All of the seating, sound and projection will be the most modern equipment available. Call said when it’s done, the facility will be the best between Wichita and Denver.
A variety of funding sources will combine to support the project, including public funding, and that package will be voted on at the next city council meeting, planned for Dec. 5.
The schedule calls for the new theaters to open around April, 2013, it was added.