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Ratliffs, Harry Potter and the New Regal

Posted on: Tuesday, 28 February 2006, 09:01 CST

By Tim Rausch, The Lima News, Ohio

Feb. 28--LIMA -- Rob and Kim Ratliff cuddled on the sixth row, ate popcorn and waited for "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.""The kids are at school," Rob Ratliff said. "'What are you doing in Lima today?' We're running some errands," Kim Ratliff added. The Van Wert County couple were one of the first patrons at the Regal Cinemas American Mall Stadium 12, catching a midday matinee for the first day of movies at the $4.7 million megaplex. "My husband is self-employed, but he's taking a couple of hours off, but he works all the time. I work at home, so we are not really going to be in trouble," Kim Ratliff said. It is the fourth time she has sat down to see the latest Harry Potter movie; the first time was in a megaplex in Fort Wayne, Ind. First-run movies will start on Friday. For movies shown Monday, today and Thursday, the proceeds will benefit local charities. On Monday, the $1 tickets, $1 popcorn and $1 drinks went to help Newspaper In Education and were sponsored by The Lima News. Moviegoers were also treated to showings of "Return of the King,""War of the Worlds" and "Memoirs of a Geisha." Richard Grover, northern region marketing manager for Regal Entertainment Group, said the first day of operations went well. "There is some tension just because it is a new building," Grover said. "You got a lot of experience from the other location coming over here. And then you also have the general manager who has experience with a megaplex in Fort Wayne." Amenities to be offered in the new 12-screen theater complex are high-back rocking recliner seats, retractable cup holders that move out of the way to form love seats, a computerized box office that speeds up ticket transactions and the latest digital surround-sound system. It can accommodate nearly 2,000 people and has 65 employees. "This is going to be a lot better" than the other theater, Rob Ratliff said. "The seating and everything else is really nice." The other theater, Regal Cinema 7 on North Cable Road, will close Thursday. Regal closed its three-screen theater on Elida Road in mid-January. Given a choice of theaters, Rob Ratliff said they would chose the new one. Especially when the next Harry Potter movie is released. Kim Ratliff said it is being filmed.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Lima News, Ohio

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Source: The Lima News

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