Sprint IMAX Theatre

Opening on December 8, 1995 with a six-month run of “Survival Island” and “Blue Planet”, the Sprint IMAX Theatre is a 400-seat single-screen IMAX theatre at the Kansas City Zoo sponsored by the Sprint Corporation with a giant 65x85ft perforated vinyl screen featuring eight wheelchairs so no customer sits more than 50 feet from the screen.

The theatre’s original projection, led by original projectionist Brian Allen, features special coddling with a 15,000-watt bulb putting out so much heat that it requires its own high-tech cooling system to keep the film running from melting as chilled, distilled, demineralized water is pumped through the housing. lastly, sound was also provided by three compact discs that play simultaneously, with each disc holding the sound for two of the theater’s six tracks. Visitors with hearing impairments use special headlines that carry only the film’s narration and basic music tracks.

Unfortunately, money loss and an expired lease caused the Sprint IMAX Theatre to close temporarily on December 31, 2005 after showings of “Santa vs. the Snowman”, “Everest”, “Coral Reef Adventure” and “Jane Goodall’s Wild Chimpanzees” in a loop. Another reason for closure is the loss of visitors where attendance had dropped from a high of 121,000 in 1998 to fewer than 80,000 in 2005. Throughout its last couple of weeks, the IMAX operated without a lease which according to the Kansas City Star reported that it expired on December 8, 2005, which is a little more than three weeks before closure. The money loss didn’t come from not just the IMAX but also the Kansas City Zoo itself. The lease with IMAX for use of projectors and other hardware cost more than $150,000 annually from 2002 to 2005, the zoo lost more than $300,000 on the theatre itself. However, this closure didn’t last long. On March 29, 2006, zoo director Randy Wisthoff agreed to a new lease with IMAX allowing the Sprint to stay open. Without revealing details, Wisthoff replied that the theatre will now operate under more generous terms from IMAX.

Two days later on March 31, 2006, the Sprint IMAX reopened with loop showings of “Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon” (with narration by Tom Hanks), “Africa’s Elephant Kingdom” and “Amazon”. Though the Sprint IMAX cannot continue to drain the zoo’s budget, Wistoff replied that increasing attendance at the theater was one of the factors behind a proposed redesign of the zoo’s main entrance, which is in the same building as the theatre itself.

Unfortunately, after more than a year of a reboot, the Sprint IMAX Theatre closed its doors on August 27, 2007, after an IMAX film festival if “Hurricane on the Bayou”, “Africa’s Elephant Kingdom”, “Deep Sea”, “Jane Goodall’s Wild Chimpanzees”, and “Everest”. Following the Sprint’s closure, the Kansas City Zoo announced that they’ll keep the building for performances.

Recent comments (view all 1 comments)

Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.