The Grand Theater is in the process of cleaning up devastating water damage that was sustained at the end of July.

During the last week of July, a construction company started working on roof repairs at the theater, and on one of the days Knoxville experienced severe weather and heavy rainfall. The tarp that was placed over the hole on the roof blew off and it rained heavily inside the building for several hours. The damage from the water is looking like hundreds of thousands of dollars in repairs, according to the theater. The theater is doing the best they can to make the repairs happen after the construction company has not taken any financial responsibility for the damages. The theater is still figuring everything out with their own insurance company and what they will cover. 

Grand Theater Foundation President Curt Schwanabek is spending hours on end of his personal time, along with employees of the theater, to clean up the mess. However, nearly every aspect of the theater suffered water damage in one way or another so the clean up effort is a large feat. Just to dry the building out after the storm, it cost the local theater over $90,000. Schwanabek is hopeful that the theater can open back up in 4-6 weeks as long as the screens, sound system, and seats are up to standard as other repairs can come at a later time.

“We’re doing all we can. I got a handful of really good employees and I don’t want to lose them, so we are doing the best we can– we have been putting them to work to clean up, and they’re all totally on board with it.”

The Grand Theater also is looking for community support during this time. If you would like to make a donation to help with clean up costs you can follow this link. The theater also sells curbside popcorn on the weekends.