Garage parking spots no longer reserved for moviegoers in Rosemont
Moviegoers in Rosemont may now have to park a bit farther within the village's massive 7-level entertainment district parking garage.
Patrons of the AMC theater previously took a separate ramp into the garage and could park among the 1,300 spaces dedicated to the theater on the north side of the garage.
But parking now is first come, first served, under a change to the parking agreement approved by the village board this week.
Mayor Brad Stephens said AMC requested the change, as the struggling cinema chain looks to cut costs amid the coronavirus pandemic. The company previously paid $200,000 a year for parking spaces in the village-owned garage, but under the deal approved Wednesday it will pay $72,000 annually.
Theatergoers, as well as customers of any of the other entertainment venues within Parkway Bank Park, can still park for free, as long as they remember to validate their tickets before heading home.
The changes to AMC's parking agreement came a day after the corporation said in a public filing that it could run out of cash by the end of the year or early 2021, due to reduced attendance at theaters and a diminished Hollywood movie slate.
Just before the pandemic took hold, AMC unveiled renovations to its theater in Rosemont, in which it shut down six of the building's 18 screens, with plans to parcel out that space to another user. Now branded AMC DINE-IN Rosemont 12, the theater features a food "delivery to seat" experience; plush, power recliners; and upgraded restaurant and lobby.
AMC leases the building from iStar, a New York-based real estate capital group. Besides payment for the parking garage, AMC contributes to a village-controlled entertainment district promotional fund, but Stephens said those fees have been waived for now in light of COVID-19.