On Tuesday, Dagny McKinley with Undiscovered Earth and Karl Bunker owner of Wildhorse Steamboat, LLC shared their excitement about a new collaboration that will reimagine The Wildhorse Stadium Cinemas creating a movie and performance space for the community.

“We’re excited about having Undiscovered Earth and Dagny in there,” Bunker said Tuesday morning. “Just having somebody that has generated some buzz about the arts is important, and I’m so pleased that Dagney and the Undiscovered Earth board were receptive …  Every time they’ve been in (the theater) they get excited, tangibly excited, and that’s what we want. We think that’s what’s good for the community and for Steamboat Springs. We’re doing our best to make this a community asset.”

McKinley, executive director for Undiscovered Earth, said the plan is for Undiscovered Earth to take over operations of the Metropolitan Wildhorse 6 Stadium Cinemas located at 655 Marketplace Plaza on Feb. 1, 2025.

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“We will do some refreshing to clean things up before we start programming,” McKinley said. “We really want to focus the financial investment and getting a performance space built in there, and that’s going to be very low key. We’re going to start doing a lot more community programming and that’s where the biggest changes are going to be.”

She said the group will make slight modifications to two of the theater’s screening rooms, outfitting them with stages and enhanced lighting systems to accommodate live performances. This will allow the space to host a variety of events, from theatrical productions to musical performances, comedy, youth entertainment, art classes and more all while continuing to feature new releases, nostalgic films, film classics, and family-friendly movie nights.

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“We have been working with nonprofit partners in the community to understand their programming needs and make sure we are providing affordable and accessible space for them,” said McKinley. “As we build out our 2025 calendar, we would love to hear from the community about what ideas they might have to activate the place, films they would like to see and events they might want to host in the space.”

Undiscovered Earth began an unsuccessful bid to purchase the Chief Theater at 813 Lincoln Ave. in downtown Steamboat Springs a year ago. The organization’s fundraising efforts fell short and property sold to another buyer late last summer, but McKinley said Undiscovered Earth never lost sight of its mission.

“It definitely is a much better fit for the vision that we have,” McKinley said of the Wildhorse collaboration. “With the Chief we were trying to make it work in that space, as it was. But this is, on so many levels, a better fit for the vision that we have.”

Bunker feels there is a need for a performing arts venue in Steamboat Springs and sees promise in Undiscovered Earth’s vision. That’s why he approached Undiscovered Earth after the Chief Theater deal fizzled.

“The auditoriums that we have, like the Strings (Music Festival pavilion) and Steamboat Springs High School, don’t offer anything that is readily available to the public,” Bunker said. “That’s what Undiscovered Earth has identified, and what they want to help other local groups and community groups by serving their needs. There is a revenue stream to help keep their lights on with the movies, but also there’s the outreach to the community that can fill that space that really a national group wouldn’t be able to capture, and Dagny and Undiscovered Earth are going to do great at that.”

Bunker is excited about the arrival of Undiscovered Earth and feels it is a great addition to the community to the Wildhorse Marketplace that includes retail favorites like Blue Sage Pizza, Cruisers Sub Shop, Drunken Onion, Outdoor K9 pet shop, Inclusions Bakery and Dessert Bar, Stonewall, Out There Yoga, Vertical Arts Architecture, Mountain Peaks Veterinarian Clinic, Mountain Valley Bank and Steamboat Orthopaedic & Spine Institute.  

McKinley said Undiscovered Earth has a three- to five-year vision to purchase the building and transform Wildhorse Cinemas into a center for the arts with theater, movie theaters, rehearsal space for artists, and an education space for youth. McKinley said anyone interested in investing in the vision, or if you want to volunteer time or ideas, can reach out to [email protected].

“Karl Bunker, owner of Wildhorse Steamboat, LLC and Metropolitan Rocky Mountain Cinemas are the heroes of this story,” McKinley said.  “They are giving their expertise and support to reimagine how we come together as a community and allow the performing arts to expand and thrive. There are no words to express our gratitude for this space and the opportunity we have been given.”