Changes may be on the horizon for one Johnson County movie theater.
Cinemark Merriam, 5500 Antioch Road, wants to expand its offerings to include laser tag and bowling in an effort to adapt to the “changing landscape” of the movie theater industry, according to city documents.
The Merriam Planning Commission on Wednesday evening is set to discuss the Texas-based movie theater’s plans to change its business operations for the first time since coming to the city in 1998.
The theater would become ‘Gamescape by Cinemark’
- The company wants to renovate its Merriam movie theater to become an “amusement center and arcade” called Gamescape by Cinemark, according to city documents.
- This is in an effort to increase “customer appeal” to the movie theater, an industry that has “struggled to return to pre-pandemic attendance levels,” according to city documents.
- Plans included in city documents show the bowling, arcade and laser tag space account for nearly 38,000 square feet.
- In addition to an arcade, Gamescape by Cinemark calls for roughly 12,000 square feet’s worth of bar and restaurant space.
The new plan still calls for 10 individual theaters
- A majority of the movie theaters are planned to remain on the west side of the current building.
- Each movie theater ranges from seating as few as 64 people to as many as 264 people, for a combined total of more than 1,000 seats.
- There are also 18 bowling alleys planned for the east side of the building, which is where the current small arcade currently stands.
- The bar and restaurant space is planned for directly east of the main entrance.
Next steps:
- The planning commission will discuss Cinemark’s request for a change in use at its Jan. 3 meeting.
- Planning commission meetings are held at city hall, 9001 W. 62nd St., at 7 p.m. on the first Wednesday of each month.
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