CIBOLO, Texas – If you thought IKEA was going to be the only excitement this year for communities north of San Antonio along I-35, hold onto your hardhats.
There are two massive entertainment complexes set to open this spring. Santikos Entertainment and EVO Entertainment each have projects going up at I-35 and Weiderstein Road. They sit on either side of the boundary between Schertz and Cibolo. EVO is set to open March 8 and Santikos is planning for a May opening.
Santikos Entertainment officials gave a KSAT.com team a tour of the progress this week.
The 87,700 square-foot facility is not just a movie theater. In addition to 12 auditoriums, the complex will also have 16 bowling lanes, arenas for laser tag and VR, an arcade, a restaurant and bar.
Two of the auditoriums will be Santikos AVX with bigger screens and digital surround sound. All of the movie theater auditoriums will have luxury recliner seats -- a total of 1,482 seats to be exact.
The split-level laser tag arena will be the only 100% LED arena in the state of Texas. The 3,800 square-foot area will be able to accommodate 24 players at a time. The system will have nearly two dozen options for game plays.
The bowling alley will have 16 lanes, four of which will be VIP lanes with interactive image projections.
The Hologate virtual reality feature promises to entertain the players as well as the spectators. The arena will have clear glass walls and will be positioned right in the middle of the building.
"We pride ourselves on being a family entertainment venue and so we have something for everybody," said Andrew Brooks, Santikos Entertainment's director of marketing.
There is also variety when it comes to food and drinks. A full bar will serve beer, wine and spirits while the eatery will have burgers, sandwiches, wings and Neapolitan style pizza.
"We're a movie theater that serves really good food and we're excited to showcase that here," Brooks said.
Santikos is a San Antonio-based company known for giving back to the community. Portions of the proceeds at each Santikos theater are donated to local nonprofits.
The Cibolo theater is expected to draw people from the surrounding small towns that currently don't have movie theaters.
"Cibolo is our home, but we're really excited to be a part of this whole community," Brooks said.
The theater will anchor a large development that is expected to bring in many other retailers and restaurants.
View gallery of construction photos and artist's renderings of Santikos Entertainment Cibolo:
Image Courtesy: Santikos Entertainment