Summer movies in the park! The City of Denver is in the final stages of approving a contract with a company to begin holding public movie events in Civic Center Park this summer. On Monday, the Denver City Council is expected to approve a bill that will allow the outdoor cinema company US Open Air, LLC to show films in the “meadow” portion of the park (adjacent to the McNichols Building) from July 14 through August 12.

Apparently some of the screenings will tie in with the Biennial of the Americas art events, but most of the movies will be recent releases they hope will draw as many as 1,400 viewers. The company will provide seating and a 3-story screen that rises via a hydraulic lift system. Food and booze will be sold.

Other cities have had great success with these types of open-air movies showings as a way to draw people downtown and away from the suburban multiplexes.  Certainly Denver’s  Civic Center Park — which is finally getting funds released for long delayed restoration) — needs events just like this to help it rise from its current underutilized status into a public space that is truly alive and engaging.

The only rub about this plan: the movies won’t be free… or even cheap. According to the presentation US Open Air made to Council last month, tickets will cost anywhere between $15 and $20. Part of this hefty price could be the fees the company is expected to fork over to the city. US Open Air will “pay a $15,000 park fee plus $45,000 for park restoration.  It will collect seat tax on tickets sold. Revenue to the City is estimated to be between $63,000 and $100,000.” Those numbers must sound pretty nice to city officials wrestling with an epic budget shortfall. But does anyone really expect 1,400 people in this economy to pay $20 bucks plus tax for an outdoor movie? That’s a month subscription to Netflix!

Heck, why not just borrow a projector and a Buster Keaton flick from the Central Library and set up a screen in the Greek amphitheater? Now that’s the true spirit of a summer movie in the park: free, fun and public.