Roanoke Rapids Theatre gets yet another chance at stardom
The Roanoke Rapids Theatre was sold Monday, and the new owners promise to bring new life to the troubled venue.
The 1,500-seat theater has been a financial burden to Roanoke Rapids since it opened 11 years ago. The city borrowed more than $21 million to build it, trying to make it a centerpiece of an entertainment mecca along Interstate 95.
But the venue failed to fulfill its promise under a string of managers, starting with Dolly Parton's brother, Randy, and ventures ranging from concerts to online sweepstakes games.
"It's a project that we've been working on for a long time," Roanoke Rapids Mayor Emery Doughtie said.
Tom and Evon McLean, a North Carolina couple, brought the theater for $3 million and will make the latest run at turning it into an entertainment destination.
"We're going to light it up," said Jack Glasure, senior vice president at Raleigh advertising agency French, West, Vaughn, which has been hired to handle marketing for the theater. "We want this to be a rest stop destination at Exit 171 as people travel that busy corridor of I-95."
The McLeans plan to host everything from top musical acts and car shows to motorcycle rallies and pageants, Glasure said. Drive-in movies, film festivals and Live after 5 events also will be in the mix. The calendar of events will be announced Aug. 6.
Roanoke Rapids still owes $15 million on the building, but City Manager Joseph Scherer said the sale is a chance to move forward.
"This is an opportunity for us to improve ourselves financially," Scherer said. "Even though it is debt on the city, we feel that it will lead to economic development that will lead to increased revenue for our coffers."
Local taxpayers sounded hopeful.
"I think it sounds really good, but we have to see what happens," Lillian Walker said.
