Wednesday, October 06, 1999
Spielberg magic may come to Newport
Talks on for Sega GameWorks
BY TERRY FLYNN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
NEWPORT — Expect to see Steven Spielberg's magic touch at the Newport on the Levee entertainment complex in the form of a Sega GameWorks when the development opens on the riverfront here in 2001.
Barry Rosenberg, vice president of Steiner and Associates of Columbus, developer of Newport on the Levee and the Oceanic Adventures Newport Aquarium, said Tuesday that negotiations are under way with GameWorks.
“There is no signed contract,” he emphasized. “We are still talking with GameWorks. We're talking to a lot of people at this stage.”
GameWorks, developed jointly by Mr. Spielberg's Dreamworks SKG, Universal Studios Inc. and Sega Enter prises, is a one-stop entertainment center featuring all manner of games, as well as a restaurant, a bar and other amenities dressed up with glitz and lights.
There are GameWorks centers in Indianapolis and at the new Easton mall in suburban Columbus. Easton was developed by Steiner, giving Newport on the Levee an obvious connection to the GameWorks people.
Newport on the Levee, which Mr. Rosenberg said is planned to open in spring 2001, is to fill the Newport riverfront from the Taylor-Southgate Bridge to the L&N Bridge, and between Third Street and the flood wall.
In addition to the $40 million aquarium, which anchors the west end of the complex, the Levee project is to feature a 3-D IMAX theater, a 21-screen multiplex theater, and a variety of restaurants, shops and entertainment venues.
GameWorks gives visitors the choice of several themed game zones, including a Racing Zone, a Sports Zone, an Adventure Zone, the Carnival Zone, the Classics Zone, and The Are na. The latter is the gateway to the other zones and includes a four-player game called Vertical Reality, created by Mr. Spielberg himself.
There are 11 GameWorks centers in the United States and two more outside the country.
A pair of restaurants and a comedy club have signed up to be part of the Newport on the Levee entertainment package. Columbus restaurateur Cameron Mitchell will build a seafood restaurant similar to his Columbus Fish Market, probably called Cincinnati Fish Market, as well as a diner along the lines of his Cap City Diner.
Mr. Rosenberg said Mitch Kutash, who operates Comedy Club businesses in Cleveland and Columbus, also has signed to put a Comedy Club on the Levee.
“By the end of November, we expect to have about 70 percent of the space at Newport on the Levee committed,” Mr. Rosenberg said. “We don't want to make any official announcements until the contracts are signed.”
Construction of a 2,000-car parking garage is continuing at the Levee site. Work on the plaza and the various attractions will begin when the garage is completed.
The city of Newport is issuing about $60 million in revenue bonds to finance construction of the garage and plaza. Those bonds will be retired by Steiner through revenue from the garage and the attractions.
Work also will begin soon to widen the western end of Dave Cowens Drive, Washington Avenue to Third Street and Third Street to the Taylor-Southgate Bridge. Also to be built is a five-lane access road off Dave Cowens Drive for the parking garage.
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