Following a successful trial in early May, Maindy Centre in Cardiff is all set to hold regular drive-in cinema evenings. A seated outdoor cinema is also being developed that will start showing films from August onwards.
Maindy is run by GLL, a not-for-profit social enterprise that runs eight leisure facilities in Cardiff on behalf of the council. A twenty-minute walk away from the city centre, it has a large car park and is well known for an outdoor velodrome associated with Geraint Thomas and other prominent Welsh cyclists.
“Maindy has a lot of space that isn’t used so two years ago, centre manager Anthony Hayes and I started looking at the possibility of developing seated and drive-in cinemas,” said Ben Clarke, GLL duty manager.
“We contacted Wonder Cinema and have worked in partnership with them and Cardiff Council to develop the idea.
“With room for 26 cars, 25 turned up to watch Grease at our first test event this month. Moving forward, we plan to run a drive-in cinema weekend every two months and on special occasions like Valentine’s Day, Halloween and Christmas. More spaces will be available, and Wonder will run the bookings on our behalf.
“The seated outdoor cinema will show The Greatest Showman on Saturday 8 August and Mamma Mia on Sunday 9 August. Food and non-alcoholic drinks will be available to buy on site and people bring their own chairs.
“We’re aiming for a unique open air, family-friendly experience that encourages dancing, singing and social camaraderie in a relaxed setting close to our historic velodrome.
“This is an exciting time for Maindy and, moving forward, we’ll be working closely with local businesses and the local community to make the most of what we have here.”
Bookings for the August weekend are made directly with the Maindy Centre. For more information, visit the website.