Opening date for Tiffin entertainment center remains ‘fluid’

TIFFIN — Two years after it was announced, the timeline for completion of a Fridley Theatres entertainment center in Tiffin remains “fluid” as the concept is being finalized.

The Des Moines-based movie theater chain announced plans for an IMAX and family entertainment center in the Park Place 380 development in Tiffin in August 2022.

“In a perfect world, we would have already broken ground, but we hope to be able to break ground as soon as we get some of these details finalized,” said Russel Vannorsdel, president of Fridley Theatres.

Fridley Theatres is working with a family entertainment center consultant to determine what amenities the building will include.

Vannorsdel said the current entertainment center concepts include an IMAX and additional theaters, 16-20 bowling lanes, a large arcade, restaurant and multiple bars.

The most recent concept includes indoor and outdoor pickleball courts. Vannorsdel said the theater chain is “very close” to finalizing a concept.

Fridley Theatres opened a Waukee location in 2019 with 15 auditoriums, an IMAX screen, arcade, bar and restaurant.

Vannorsdel said the 63,000 square-foot Waukee location took 16 months to build. The Tiffin location would be around 80,000 square feet and Vannorsdel estimates it will take 14-16 months to complete.

The entertainment center will be built adjacent to PinSeekers, which opened in November, right off Interstate 380 in the Park Place 380 development.

Vannorsdel said the location in the middle of the Corridor will make the complex easily accessible to those throughout the region.

The growing communities of Tiffin and North Liberty make Park Place an ideal place to invest, Vannorsdel said.

“There's just such a great population there, and such a need for entertainment opportunities … When it's completed it's going to be cool and easily accessible for the region,” he said.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Tiffin was the fastest-growing city in Iowa in 2020. The community grew by 131.7 percent between 2010 and 2020, from 1,947 residents to 4,512.

Though the theater formally announced its plans for a Tiffin location in 2022 Vannorsdel said Fridley has been interested in the area since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Post COVID, construction costs and availability to workforce was extremely limited, and it made a project of this size difficult,” Vannorsdel said.

“But as that stuff has stabilized, and we’ve continued to learn how popular these family entertainment centers are and what aspects we're looking forward to, we’ve been gaining momentum.“

Megan Woolard covers Johnson County for The Gazette.

Comments: (319) 368-8677; megan.woolard@thegazette.com