Scene of a PEEC event held at the Reel Deal Theater before its closure. Courtesy/RDT

By JIM O’DONNELL
Former Co-Owner
Reel Deal Theater

I’m thrilled to hear our County is seriously considering investing in the former Reel Deal Theater. The theater holds within those auditoriums many possibilities for our community and so much more potential than just another office building.

For starters, they could keep one or two screens (which are fully functional) to show special showings, events, and films. They could bring back Summer at the Movies and Senior Appreciation Night, both wildly popular events over the last dozen years.

One or both of the larger auditoriums could be retrofitted to accommodate live performances and concerts by removing the screen and two front rows of seating. This would result in quite a large area whereby a stage could be retrofitted with appropriate lighting and so forth. The stadium seating is perfect for any of these events.

The auditoriums are also equipped to hold LANL or any other of the many meetings and fundraisers we’ve held over the years. Let’s not forget PEEC, Bathtub Row Brewing, Los Alamos Mountaineers, Little Theater, (a new home?) Pajarito Brew Pub and Los Alamos Public Schools.

Income and entertainment could both be generated while serving our community. I believe this is the highest and best use for the theater. The only limit is our imagination.

If our County doesn’t go forward with this, it will most likely end up as another office building.

The County Council will be discussing this at 6 p.m. Tuesday via zoom (link on county website) or Comcast, Pac-8.

Editor’s note: The Reel Deal Theater was a family owned business that was sold to an investor.