Sundance Announces Movie Theatre at Bayou Place
March 31, 2011 LOS ANGELES, CA – Sundance Cinemas, The Cordish Companies and the City of Houston today announced that a lease has been signed for the former Angelika center space at Bayou Place in the theatre district of Downtown Houston.
Sundance expects the extensive refurbishment work to begin immediately on the eight-screen complex with the target of a November 1, 2011 opening. The Sundance Cinemas Houston will provide the same unique patron experience and success of Sundance's two other theatres, located in San Francisco, CA and Madison, WI.
As a boy, Sundance Group President Robert Redford spent summers in Austin and San Marcos, where his mother's family is from. Redford has often said that his love of nature is rooted in those Texas summers. Redford commented on the Houston location opening, stating, "I am so happy to see our newest Sundance Cinemas facility coming to Houston. It's a great city for our next step forward."
Sundance Cinemas President and CEO Paul Richardson also expressed his excitement about expanding into Houston, stating, "I am personally thrilled for Sundance Cinemas to be coming to Houston, a city where I went to college and operated other theatres in my days of running Landmark Theatres, and I believe that Bayou Place is the perfect location for us."
Sundance Cinemas Houston will offer specialized film programming, playing the finest movies for a discerning audience culled from film festivals and the best in general release. The venue will offer drinking and dining choices, all reserved seating, digital stereo sound and presentation, filmmaker screenings and exclusive events, plus free parking for patrons and community events. In fact, community events will mark the opening celebrations when the theatre opens on the first of November.
“We are thrilled that Sundance Cinemas will be opening at Bayou Place,” said Blake Cordish, Vice President of The Cordish Companies. “Robert Redford’s Sundance brand has earned world wide recognition in independent film and his theaters offer an unmatched theater going experience. Sundance Cinemas is the ideal addition to Bayou Place and Houston’s world class Theater District.”
Houston Mayor Annise Parker also praised Sundance Cinemas’ opening, stating, “I want to thank Ed Wulfe for his volunteer efforts on this. Robert Redford’s Sundance Cinemas is one of the most sought after theater operators in the country. Their investment in Houston is validation of the strength and vitality of our downtown. We look forward to a fall opening and the years of world class cinema that will follow.”