Keeping College Station Theater Local

Imagine a place where the warmth of a local business meets the nostalgia of the movie theater, creating a space that feels connected to every visitor—that’s the experience College Station Theater has designed. “My father built the theater over 15 years ago with the idea that, when he was a kid, we had the Fox Theater down there; he would go watch movies and spend some time downtown,” says Paul Tillman, real estate investment manager at Tillman Redevelopment. “By the time I was a kid, that wasn’t an option anymore, and it made sense to him that a movie theater downtown would be a good indicator of a healthy downtown.” The idea of adding a movie theater downtown was proposed and well accepted, and Paul and his dad, Scott Tillman, successfully secured Hollywood Theaters as a tenant.

A few years later, Regal bought Hollywood Theaters, and eventually Regal was bought out as well. When Paul and Scott were exploring options for new regional-sized tenants, they were consistently worried that they were going to continue facing the issue of being bought out by larger companies.

“What we kept coming back to is no one’s going to love Springfield as much as we do,” Paul says. “They’re not gonna care about Springfield as much as we do, and they’re not gonna make the choices for this site the same way we would. And so we started exploring this idea of how hard can it be to run a movie theater? Turns out, it’s pretty challenging.”

Nonetheless, they hired great managers to help with day-to-day tasks, and the interior required minimal renovations. One of the many benefits of shifting operations locally is the pricing. “How is it that we can invest all this money and still charge less? We’re not really sure, but we’re doing it. So, from a community standpoint, we’re able to provide a superior experience for less money and hopefully get more people to the movies.”

Open now, College Station Theater has more than 800 reclining heated seats, 10 laser projectors and Dolby Atmos sound, and it is conveniently located next to one of downtown’s free parking garages. They have partnered with local businesses like Pineapple Whip, Coffee Ethic and Big Slice to offer their products at the theater. “The things that make Springfield great are some of these unique businesses,” Paul says. They are also partnering with 1984 Arcade—another downtown Springfield staple—to add some classic games to the theater as well. Over time, Paul hopes College Station Theater will bring more people downtown. “It’s a good, wonderful place to be,” Paul says.