Johnson Taking Magic Touch to Maryland

Drawing on the model he used successfully in Los Angeles’ Crenshaw community, Earvin “Magic” Johnson is planning to open a theater complex in a predominantly black neighborhood bordering the nation’s capital.

The $85-million project is targeted for completion in late 1999 in Maryland’s Prince Georges County on the current site of the U.S. Air Arena. The former home of the Washington Wizards basketball team will be redeveloped into the Capital Centre, a 500,000-square-foot retail and entertainment venture.

The plans by Johnson and partner Sony Loews Theatre Corp. call for a 16-screen facility, with a seating capacity of 4,000. Along with popcorn, candy and soft drinks, the complex’s concession area is to include a gourmet dessert and coffee selection.

In 1995, Johnson and Sony opened a 12-screen complex at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza in Los Angeles, a project that has proved to be an important anchor for the shopping center. Since then, the partnership has built similar complexes in largely black neighborhoods in Houston and Atlanta.

One goal of the theaters is to foster economic development in minority communities. As part of that mission, theater managers make a point to create and offer jobs to surrounding community residents.

“It is our goal to continue to reach out to these neighborhoods,” Johnson said in a statement. “We are very excited about opening this theater at the Capital Centre. Building Magic Johnson Theatres has been a dream realized.”