IMAX construction begins at El Paso’s Bassett Place

EL PASO – Work has begun to put an IMAX theater in the Premiere Cinema at Bassett Place Mall, located at 6101 Gateway West.

Crews are completing demolition of two auditoriums in Premiere Cinemas’ Bassett theater to make way for the IMAX auditorium. The theater had 18 screens prior to the two-screen demolition.

The IMAX theater will be six stories high, have a 75-foot-wide screen, and is expected to seat about 420 people. Construction is expected to be complete by fall 2013.

In 2011, Premiere and IMAX agreed to allow Premiere to put IMAX systems in four Texas markets, including El Paso. The company has an IMAX open in Lubbock, and has another under construction in Bryan-College Station, as reported in May 2013.

"El Paso is one of the largest markets in the United States without an IMAX theater," Premiere CEO Gary Moore said.