Admiral Twin Co-Owner: Plans For New Drive-In 'Similar' To Original Theater

By Tara Vreeland, The News On 6

TULSA, OKLAHOMA -- Progress is being made in Tulsa's efforts to raise money in hopes of rebuilding the historic Admiral Twin Drive-in.

The silver screen burned down on September 3, 2010. The owners hadn't planned on rebuilding but say it was taken out of their hands once they saw the outcry at the drive-in's fiery demise.

Donations have trickled in all month long. A few dollars here and there and countless wishes of support from the community, from coffee shop talk to Facebook.

But as the fiery hype died down, donations slowed. However, the effort to raise the Admiral Twin from the ashes has not.

A spokesperson for the Admiral Twin, Jon Terry, says they are still awaiting the receipts for several fund raising amounts.  Bigfoot Prints says that as of September 24th, 2010, they have sold more than 1,500 T-shirts and collected $7,200 in profits. The T-shirt company plans to present one big lump sum to the theater next month.

From T-shirt printing to an official website, Savetheadmiraltwindrivein.com was designed to manage fundraising efforts. So far, fundraisers estimate they've collected more than $16,000.

9/25/2010 Related Story: More Than $16,000 Collected To Rebuild Tulsa's Admiral Twin Drive-In

Co-owner Blake Smith said he's met with architects and the plans are for a new theater to look similar to the old silver screen.

The actual price for rebuilding the drive-in is still unknown. Smith guesses they could build a stripped down version for close to $200,000 and could make a more elaborate theater for $300,000.  However, he said it's more than just constructing the screen. The box office will need to be refurbished and the main electrical panel replaced.

Smith said if the funds come together they are fully committed on resurrecting Tulsa's towering theater.

He said they anticipate a lot of wrinkles will have been ironed out for the October 16th benefit concert.  Smith said they hope to have the final cost estimates as well as drawn up plans for the new Admiral Twin Drive-in.