Sapulpa Tee Pee Drive-In Theater Hosts Grand Reopening Saturday

The gates of a historic drive-in theater in Sapulpa opened to the public Saturday for the first time in more than two decades.

"For old people like us, it brings back a lot of memories," said Soma Learned of Sapulpa.

Randy Hartman also remembers his time at the drive-in growing up. "We came to the Tee Pee theater a lot when I was a child, probably in the late 50's, early 60's."

Tee Pee Drive-In opened in 1950 and was the place to be on weekends in Sapulpa.

"Saturday nights mom would pop up a big bag of popcorn and off we would go to the Tee Pee," said Hartman.

Sapulpa resident Soma Learned recounts many summer nights spent at the drive-in with her husband. "When we were dating we would come out here and just watch movies and hang out, it was fun," she said.

After nearly 50 years in business, the magic of the outdoor movie theater died and the lot sat vacant for 22 years.

"I would drive by and there were trees grown up and the weeds were waist high," Hartman continued saying, "The buildings and the screen were in a severe state of disrepair."

The Kante Group, founded by Sapulpa natives, purchased the property and renovated it over a two-year span.

"We have completely redone the ground," said Tee Pee Drive-In Operations Manager Haley Smalley. "The screen frame is original but we have fixed it up, repaired it and got it good to go. We repaired 1950's Spartan trailers into our concessions as well as into our AirBnB's and put in a playground for kids."

The new owners said they want Tee Pee Drive-In to be more than an outdoor movie theatre, so they kicked off the grand reopening with a classic car show. About 80 parking spots were filled with everything from a 1968 Malibu to a 1955 Bel Air.

Leo White from Sapulpa Cruise Night helped organize the car show. "We had people knocking down the door just to be part of the event," he said. "We could easily have filled up the whole parking lot just because it is such a historical event."

Movie tickets for opening night sold out quickly, with 270 vehicles claiming a spot on the lawn. Smalley said that shows there is excitement for the future of the drive-in.

"Our goal is to kind of grow Sapulpa and so we hope that this is one of the landmarks that will bring people in from Tulsa as well as from all over the nation with being right on Route 66," she added.

Guests in attendance Saturday all agreed on one thing: it is great to see the lot being put to good use once again. "It is a great family time just to hang out, to watch movies, and enjoy each other's company and actually communicate with each other," said Learned.

Hartman added, "It is good to see it brought back to life."

Tickets to future showings can be purchased online at https://www.teepeedrivein.com/ or at the gate.