1,000 wins
Cars
Take a look back at the program that’s made collegiate history
Staff writer Ben Sloan previews the upcoming Chicago Auto Show
see SPORTS on PAGE 8
see AUTOS on PAGE 12
February 9, 2010, Volume 204 >> Number 96 >> 40 cents >> iowastatedaily.com >> An independent newspaper serving Iowa State since 1890
TUESDAY
VARSITY THEATER Costs, benefits weighed as proposal debate continues
Editor’s note: This is the first in a two-part series on GSB’s proposal to rent and renovate what was formerly Varsity Theater. The second part will focus on the outstanding issues that left the senate delaying the vote for another week — to Wednesday night’s meeting.
By Kyle Peterson Daily Staff Writer Ian Ringgenberg, graduate student in interdisciplinary graduate studies, remembers the Varsity Theater fondly. “My freshman and sophomore year, that was what you did,” Ringgenberg said. “I saw ‘Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure’ there. I saw ‘Shawshank Redemption.’” After Cinemark vacated the space in January 2009, the building sat empty for months. That got Ringgenberg thinking. “I walked by one day and saw that theVarsity was closed,” Ringgenberg said. “I was really just kind of heartbroken.” Through the Campustown Student Association, he connected with Tom Danielson, senior in civil engineering and Government of the Student Body finance director, who had similar feelings about the theater. The two looked at options for revitalizing the Varsity, took tours of the property and did some estimating on whether they thought they could get an initiative off the ground. “Once we found all that basic information, we just kind of determined that it was actually feasible, as a student initiative, to do,” Danielson said. At first, Ringgenberg said many viewed the proposal as a shot in the dark. “No one really took us seriously,” Ringgenberg said. “No one really thought that this would happen. People were just kind of playing along, for the time being.” So the two began gathering information, and the GSB set up a task force to explore the idea. Without experience in the movie theater business, it was sometimes hard to know where to start. “When we’re looking for a screen, I’m googling ‘movie theater screen,’” Ringgenberg said. “We did get in contact with a theater owner in Des Moines. They pointed us to a few kind of regional resources.”
Attendance analysis
Student Activities Center staff also helped the task force formulate their budget, said George Micalone, director of student activities. Micalone has previous experience working with a film program at the University of South Carolina, and said such programs are somewhat widespread. “Many universities show movies on campus in the same format as they’re proposing for Cyclone Cinema,” Micalone said. “What’s common is to show second-run films on campus. What’s uncommon is to have a consistent space and consistent schedule.” In fact, the Student Union Board currently shows films in the Memorial Union, but Micalone said the current setup leaves much to be desired. “We’re using PowerPoint projectors to project images from a VCR on a screen that’s certainly not made for showing movies,” Micalone said. Believing their idea represented a step up for the program, multiple task force members set out to spread the word on the project, visiting constituency councils and student organizations to talk about the idea. “We went wherever we could find,” Ringgenberg said. The group brought four-question surveys to the meetings, and the input they received from students has helped to shape the final proposal. “It’s helped us think about this theater and what students will want and what students will use,” Ringgenberg said. “Our Thursday through Sunday schedule comes directly from that. By and far, that’s when students see films.” Other In all, Ringgenberg said that he, Danielson and several other task force members have probably spent more than 400 hours Bar on the project. events seeMore THEATER on PAGE 14 Grocery store What would you most like to see in Campustown?
With 28 weeks of shows, 16 shows per week, one midnight movie in each theater per month, and theater capacities of 400 and 200, a 33% capacity means the theater will need to attract: ■■ 46,200 patrons per year ■■ 6,600 patrons per month ■■ 1,650 patrons per week
Other
More activitiesfor under-21 students
Bar
More sit-down dining
More events
Movie theater
Yes
Bar
More sit-down dining
977
Yes
Yes
More activitiesfor under-21 students
*projections based on 33% capacity, 25% concessions-buy ■■ Year 1 — ($60,000) ■■ Year 2 — ($59,672.76) ■■ Year 3 — ($61,557.61) ■■ Year 4 — ($64,715.18) ■■ Year 5 — ($66,608.93)
No
Source: GSB online survey of more than 2,500 students Other
Grocery store
Projected operating loss
Would you be in support of student activity fee dollars being spent on a student-run No and student-focused theater No in Campustown?
1,350
More events
35.2%
Movie theater
1,313
1,015 1,102
Grocery orstore 918
More activitiesfor under-21 students
65.2%
or 1,699
More sit-down dining
First-year revenues ■■ $1
■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■
taff Wages - $42,327 S Movie Rentals - $39,200 Property Taxes *may be waived - $25,000 Rent - $24,000 Concession Expenses - $13,650 Maintenance and Capital Reinvestment $12,178 Electric - $12,000 Miscellaneous - $19,245
Total — $187,600
$1000 Rebate Grads
One-time startup expenses ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■
Sound Systems - $50,000 Theater Seating (650 at $65 per seat) - $42,250 Projectors - $34,000 Screens - $20,000 Ten percent contingency - $18,032 Concessions Equipment - $4,600 Miscellaneous - $8,300
Total — $177,182
Total — $127,600
*
*College
Movie theater
2212 S. Duff • scionofames.com • 800-232-4081
2010 Scion xB Pure Price $16,520
Graphic: Liana Prudencio/Iowa State Daily
First-year expenses
Tickets (28 wks, 16 /wk & 7 night, 33% cap.) - $46,200 ■■ $2 Popcorn (1/4 patrons buy) - $24,000 ■■ $1.50 Candy (1/4 patrons buy) - $18,000 ■■ $1.50 Soda (1/4 patrons buy) - $18,000 ■■ Support (SUB sponsorship, etc.) - $15,000 ■■ Rental (one theater rented six times/yr.) - $3,600 ■■ Ads ($100 for four-day ad, one per week) - $2,800