MTC Adding Theaters in Palm Springs Area

Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Theatres Corp. is expanding its hold on the Palm Springs area. Metropolitan broke ground July 31 in Rancho Mirage for its fifth movie theater complex in the Coachella Valley. The new complex, with stadium-style seating, will add 16 screens to MTC’s 31 in the area.

“It’s a growing market,” said David Corwin, MTC chief executive and president. “We’ve been trying to do things for a while. . . . We never thought we’d be down there [alone] for this long.”

In fact, a few newcomers hope to challenge MTC’s longtime domination of the area. A North American Cinemas complex and Imax theater are being built in Cathedral City, which already is home to Cinemark Theaters.

In addition to the theater complex near Interstate 10 on the border of Palm Desert, MTC is looking to expand Cinema 10 at Palm Desert Town Center by as many as eight auditoriums, in conjunction with renovation and expansion of the mall. This project is still in the planning stages, said Phil Drell, Palm Desert’s director of community development.

Metropolitan has also signed a lease with Desert Fashion Plaza on Palm Canyon Drive in downtown Palm Springs, Corwin said. The company plans to erect a 10-to-14-screen complex at that mall. And to the east, MTC owns land in La Quinta on Washington Street and Highway 111--the main artery into the eastern Coachella Valley--that it plans to develop to screen high-end art films.

“The year-round population is growing fast,” Corwin said, although the area is still primarily a seasonal market. “Obviously, when we enter these deals we’re looking at 20 years down the road.” Should the company wish to expand further in the eastern Coachella Valley, Corwin said, the company can add four more screens to its Metro 8 in Indio.

Corwin said the Rancho Mirage complex is scheduled for completion by Memorial Day 1999.

MTC has nine theaters in Los Angeles, 12 in Santa Barbara and one in Colorado.