CHURCH PLANS MOVE TO CINEMA SITE.

Byline: Heather MacDonald Staff Writer

VALENCIA - A local church is poised to take over the The Mann Valencia - which had been Santa Clarita's first multiplex theater.

Bethlehem Lutheran Church, now in Canyon Country, has been looking for many months for a way to expand and keep its 500-member congregation growing, the Rev. Marty Brauer said.

``Its just a more central location and will have a much great visibility,'' Brauer said. His church was founded seven years ago.

Mann Theatres officials did not return phone calls seeking comment, but industry analysts said the company has been looking to shut down unprofitable theaters and get out of saturated areas, such as Santa Clarita.

Mann's decision to pull out of Santa Clarita comes in the middle of an industrywide restructuring, as chains look to slim down after a 10-year binge of building and expansion, said Jack Kyser of the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp.

``These older multiplexes are lemons, and many chains are finding themselves stuck with them and nowhere to go,'' Kyser said. ``A church is an interesting exit strategy.''

About a year ago, the Plaza Cinema on Lyons Avenue in Newhall closed for many of the same reasons. It is now a teen dance club.

Multiplexes without the many amenities that moviegoers now expect as standard - such as stadium seating, special food services and digital sound systems - are losing increasing amounts of money, Kyser said.

Earlier this month, Newport Beach-based Edwards Theatres filed for bankruptcy, scuttling The Newhall Land and Farming Company's sale of the Valencia Town Center. Edwards operates 23 screens in Santa Clarita, 13 at the Town Center including the IMAX theater.

The completion of the deal is contingent on Bethlehem Lutheran Church selling its 4-acre Canyon Country property on Luther Drive, Brauer said.

He said the church plans to keep one of the 10 screens, and use that theater for community movie nights and concerts of Christian music.

``It's just a much bigger space that will allow us to keep growing,'' Brauer said.

Church members are especially looking forward to staging their annual ``Follow the Star to Bethlehem'' pageant, which depicts the life of Jesus Christ, at the new church. Last year, 7,000 people came to see the Christmas play, which dramatizes seven scenes from Christ's life from the Annunciation to his death and resurrection.

``It's going to be better and bigger than ever,'' Brauer said.

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(color ran in SAC edition) Bethlehem Lutheran Church's business administrator, Rick Terwall, left, and pastor, the Rev. Marty Brauer, look forward to moving from their congregation's cramped Canyon Country digs to the Mann Theatres building in Valencia.

Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News