After Thursday, local movie goers will have one fewer choice of theatres. The Century 14 Theatre, a fixture in downtown Sparks' Victorian Square for 19 years, will be closing September 29, 2016.

The abrupt announcement was posted on the theatre doors just days before, as movie fans lined up for their tickets. Some were longtime patrons and to a person they were surprised by the news.

"Well, I'm disappointed because I love coming to this movie theatre," said Barbara Livingston.

"It's kind of a bummer," said Kevin Thomas."I mean, I've been coming to this theatre for almost 10 years now."

It won't stop these people from seeing movies. It will change their habits.

"We go to other theatres too, but we're going to miss this one," said Estela Cordova.

That was the story up and down Victorian Avenue. Justin Mummer, who owns Mummer's Bar, says he doesn't expect the closure to have a big impact on his business, but he's puzzled by the move.

"With all the apartments opening up this place is about to get a lot more people living here so I think it would be a shame to see it go."

Those apartments being built next door to the theatre, in fact, were thought by some to have had a negative impact at the moment on the business. They are being built on what was adjacent parking, but others doubt that was a factor.

From all that we can determine it was simply a business decision, a negotiation between two corporations. The theatre building itself belongs to Syufy Enterprises which once operated all movie theatres in the area, but years ago leased it to Cinemark.

Cinemark's lease was up and they declined to renew it. They still operate three other theatres in town.

The closing is a setback for the city and its efforts to build downtown business. On one level it means another big building like the Bourbon Square Casino which closed in February of 2015 and remains dark.

But it's more than that.

When redevelopment plans were being made here a couple decades ago, the need for an entertainment venue to draw people downtown was considered a key element.

And just as Reno redevelopment efforts focused on a movie theatre to bring people back downtown, so did Sparks. The Century 14 was its entertainment anchor and now it will be gone.

The city admits it's a setback.

"We're disappointed the theatre is closed," says city spokesman Adam Mayberry, "but we're hopeful that this will be a short-term issue and in the long term we'll see another operator here."

Mayberry says there are indications that talks with other potential theatre operators are ongoing.

In the meantime he says any talk of the closure indicating the area's favorite special events venue is in trouble are off target.

"Victorian Square is still and will remain the living room for the city of Sparks, if you will. It will continue to be the core of where we host our special events."

In fact, he says in spite of concerns the housing under construction next door--always part of redevelopment plans--has created parking problems for special events haven't turned out to be true.

Attendance at Hot August Nights and the Nugget Rib Cookoff, the two biggest special events here, was strong this year.

Recent years have seen new competition. The theater in Victorian Square got competition recently from a new IMAX theater at the nearby Outlets at Sparks mall, though many movies are not shown at both at the same time.

But with people moving into that new housing shortly, there's reason to hope a new operator will see opportunity in Victorian Square.

The landscaped avenue linking the theatre to Victorian Avenue, the fountain in front of the theatre, popular with area children in the summer and the parking garage next door are city-owned and unaffected by the closure.

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