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Less than $5K left to save the Senator!
posted by
Michael Zoldessy
on
February 20, 2007 at 8:05 pm
BALTIMORE, MD — With just less than a day left the Senator Theatre is just under $5K short of its $109K goal. Tomorrow at 1:30PM EST, if the theater has not raised the full $109K, it will be in danger of going up for auction.
Donate at the Senator Website and save the Senator!
Comments (13)
they raised the $109k./good news
Wow, that’s awesome news.
A round of applause to everyone who made a donation. You really helped save one of the true cinema treasures.
So, is the owner going to start paying his bills on time now, or is there going to be another bail-out in the near future?
Butternut— i hear what your saying …….but ……….the truth is this theater can probably never make money…….Its about the theater not the owner………
True……but….there’s still a huge mortgage on the property. From what I read, he’s BEHIND on payments of an existing mortgage that is in the millions. So my concern would be how is the owner expecting to pay down the remaining mortgage once he pays off the amount that he is behind if the theatre doesn’t turn a profit?
donations…….or it will close………..or go not for profit
I’ve heard the guy put equity from his home into the project. That is certainly a high level of dedication.
It seems clear to me that something needs to change about this situation, otherwise the Senator will end up in trouble again.
Go to the senator’s website and read how Tom got behind in the mortgage. That should clear up a few things.
To be honest, its going to be an uphill battle given the fact that you have the Charles Theater and the Summer opening of a Landmark plex that are booking the types of movies that would do well at the Senator. Factor in the clearance issue that prevents the Senator’s single screen from booking many films and you have yet another potential future financial crisis and bail out dilemna. The Senator must implement other revenue streams than just solely rely on films and concessions.
JodarMovieFan…did you read the entire article?
Article? Are you referring to the Balto Sun article, then the answer is yes. If you’re referring to the Senator website and forums, then that answer is yes, too. I’ve been a forum member since 2004 and a regular and frequent patron of the Senator since 1999. My comments are based on well known facts, even mentioned by the owner, himself, as far as the competitive environment and clearance issue are concerned. I’ve stated elsewhere on this site that it was rather ominous that for almost a year, the Senator had an opened ended date, as part of a list of theater obituaries. Its not a surprise to me that that venue is having operating difficulties. Let’s collectively rejoice in the fact that it has overcome this financial bump in the road and will continue for the future.
JodarMovieFan..question for you. Since your have more knowledge of the Senator then I do. The parking area behind the Staples store belongs to the Senator. At one time that was one large parking lot. Does the Senator own the land where the staples now sits or did they sell that off?
I don’t think the Senator ever owned the Staples parking area, though I could be wrong. I only remember at one time, they announced that they had a sharing agreement to USE the parking area back in.. ‘02 or so. If my memory is correct, than the idea of a sharing agreement, much less the non-use of the Staples area, for the previous years of alleged Senator-owned land would seem ludicrous. Even on sold out events, I don’t recall the entire Staples lot being full, which goes back quite a bit, since you have some street parking and the area around the Belvedere shopping area.