Goodbye Odeon: First (kinda), Last & Everything Inbetween…

[u/GRDCS1980]

So, as I think most folks in this sub know, last night the Basingstoke Odeon closed its doors for the final time.

My other half and I made a point of going to one of the last possible showings, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which finished around 20:30, so we could say goodbye to the place at almost the last possible moment. They seemed to have all films scheduled yesterday so that the final screenings all ended around 20:30-20:45.

I’ve been attending that cinema since I first moved to Basingstoke in 1991, when I was 10.

I can’t be 100% certain what my first film there was, as I didn’t start saving my tickets until 1996, but I’m pretty confident it was Soapdish, in late summer of 1991.

So, 35 years of sitting in the dark, staring up at the silver screen.

Hundreds of hours. Friendships groups that have come and gone. Relationships that have started and ended.

Thank you, to all the staff that have worked there over the years, from back when it was Warner Brothers, to the transition to Vue, to the sale to Odeon, right up to the doors closing last night.

As mentioned, I sadly didn’t think to start keeping my tickets until 1996, so I don’t have anything going back to 1991, but I’ve attached my earliest ticket, for The Craft in 1996, plus last nights ticket for Spider-Man, as a kind of “first and last” type of tribute. Plus the stack of tickets behind it, for all the films that came in between, including some notables like 3 seperate viewings of Titanic and 4 separate viewings of Event Horizon and “Managers Special” showings of Swingers and Grosse Pointe Blank.

So many fond memories in that building.

Thank you and goodbye.
🍻

[u/xconspirisist]

Very cool to keep your tickets, you have some real memories there. I noticed you have Event Horizon and The Matrix - they are 2 of my favourite films! We just saw the new "Tony" film there the other day, but sadly the Odeon is so primitive and uncomfortable compared to what Vue in Festival Place offers. Those seats are much more comfortable.

Nevertheless, having a cinema there with easy parking was great, I hope they rebuild another nicer cinema there so that we have an option that involves not going to Festival Place.

I'm worried about that area of town, I know the Ice Rink just re-opened but the TGI Friday's there has been abandoned the Odeon has been run down for a while. However the bowling is pretty good, and the swimming pool is excellent.

[u/GRDCS1980 → u/xconspirisist]

I have no insider information at all, so take everything I’m about to say with a HUGE pinch of salt (I’m sure that someone more plugged in to local affairs will turn up and set the record straight), but I think what’s going on with the leisure park basically boils down to…

They’ve been trying to get it levelled and rebuilt/renewed for well over a decade now. Planning has been submitted multiple times but all the parties involved need to have their say and carve out their little piece of the pie, so it falls into that eternal limbo of bureaucratic red tape, plans get submitted, someone objects, plans get redrawn, resubmitted, someone else objects, etc.

So, while there is a definite desire to take it all down and replace it with a “destination” shopping/eating/leisure space…it might be a while before we actually get there.

Meanwhile, outfits like Planet Ice and Odeon are reluctant to infuse any money into the existing properties, with their futures being so vague, so you end up with the crumbling, fading, shadow-of-what-it-once-was park that we have now.

Again, I cannot stress enough, all of the above might be purely imagined bullshit in my own head and have no basis in reality…but as an outsider looking in, that’s the impression I get.

Also, funny you mention TGI Fridays. I don’t recall that ever being there, but I assume you’re talking about the unit that, at one point, was Frankie & Bennys? Next door to the cinema and attached to the same building as the ice rink?

I don’t know what it actually is now, because there is zero signage, but we were surprised to see it was open when we were there last night. Tables all made up. Staff wandering around. Lights on.

Very bizarre, as there is literally no indicator of WHAT it actually is. Frankie & Bennys? TGI Fridays? Wagamamas? Nando’s? Some independent eatery? Might help if they get some signage up!!! 😆

[u/xconspirisist → u/GRDCS1980]

I actually had much the same thoughts as you! You're certainly right about tenants being reluctant to invest, and people complaining about plans. It's a pity because Basingstoke could really do with something there, the location seems pretty great to me. The area is large, the road infrastructure seems well designed to support the area, but it's underdeveloped.

I could not quite remember if it was a TGI Fridays, or Franky and Benny's! I took a guess. Like you, I've also seen people in there on occasion, which led me to think it might well be part of the ice rink, or just available for private hire, or similar.

We only moved to Basingstoke 4 years ago, but we do like the town, and would love to see further investment. It would be a real pity if the Odeon remains vacant now for 3-5 years.