Eleven days after launching a GoFundMe, Gator Cinemas is far from reaching its goal of raising $15,000 to renovate the theater.
The theater, which featured movies for $2, closed its doors Dec. 10 after drain lines to the restrooms stopped working, said general manager Michael O’Brien.
O’Brien launched the fundraiser Jan. 8 to raise money for renovations such as steam cleaning, painting and installing two new sound systems.
As of press time, the GoFundMe had raised about $700.
O’Brien said the theater will likely open regardless of the fundraiser, but he hopes to make renovations as they inch closer to their goal.
“We’re not very close to it now,” O’Brien said.
He has worked on and off at the cinema for about 13 years, and each year he saw the facilities grow a little more outdated.
“We get a lot of clientele that are just happier that we’re a lot cheaper than the competitors,” O’Brien said, “But there’s definitely things that need to be repaired and spruced up before we reopen.”
O’Brien said the GoFundMe is currently their only project, but a partnership with W. Travis Loften High School may be in their future.
“I believe one of the coordinators at Loften was going to work with us on possibly having different art students come out and do murals on the outside of the building,” he said.
On Jan. 8, the theater used its Facebook page to announce a need for volunteers who can help with renovations.
”A bunch of people want to, but we’re going to wait until they deem it safe for everybody to be able to do that,” he said.
O’Brien said engineers will assess whether the building has other structural issues and then file a report — hopefully by next week.
Kelly Vogt, a 21-year-old UF biology junior, said she hasn’t been to the cinema in two years because it seemed gross.
“If they finished renovating it soon I would probably go back, because it was really nice,” she said. “It was only a dollar, but it just kind of creeped me out a little bit. I’m excited for it to be renovated.”
On the other hand, Masha Yaroshenko, a 19-year-old UF psychology and Russian junior, was upset the cinema had to close.
“Quality is not that great, but it’s so cheap and you get free refills, so it’s worth it,” she said. “As a college student, that’s all I care about.”
Yaroshenko said people should enjoy the cinema for what it is.
“Personally, I love it the way it is because, you know, we’re not perfect — theaters aren’t perfect,” she said.
