The Wichita City Council approved a $200,000 loan for the Starlite Drive-in on Tuesday.
The money comes from the sale of the Hyatt Regency hotel in 2016. It will be used to buy two new projectors.
The drive-in closed in mid-October, but an investment group recently acquired the land.
The group agreed to lease the facility to a Tulsa drive-in owner who says he expects to re-open the drive-in by late March.
New Starlite Drive-in owner Blake Smith says the business’s previous owner sold the digital projects. Smith says the cost of a projector is similar to the cost of a small home.
“We’ll do the best we can to get the best projector within our budget,” Smith says.
Once the projectors are in, Smith says he can focus on pinning down an opening date for the drive-in at 3900 S. Hydraulic.
“The Starlite has always been a fantastic drive-in,” he says. “It’s always done really well. It’s absolutely beautiful, the grounds are beautiful. “We’re going to do our best to keep that going and look forward to getting open.”
(Read more: KWCH News)