06/28/2023
This is great news!
Franklin Drive-In moving to Coopertown, Tenn.
The Franklin Drive-in is gone. However, its mission in life is not complete. The drive-in is being relocated to Coopertown, Tenn. on the outskirts of Springfield, about 33 miles from its original home.
On June 2nd, Kenneth Hannah of MDI Construction oversaw a crew manning two crane trucks, which carefully lifted away sections of the screen along with the structural underpinnings and the rest of the theater projection equipment. Within a few hours, the landscape was blank. The drive-in theater that had stood for so many years at Franklin’s southern border had disappeared.
Michael Crawley, the owner of Springfield’s MDI Construction, explained his reasons for purchasing and relocating the drive-in. “I attended the Franklin Drive-in as a child,” he wrote in an email. “When the opportunity arose to purchase the drive-in, I thought it would be great to bring it to my hometown. It provides an option for family entertainment in Coopertown.”
Crawley believes that Coopertown is a conducive location due to easy access from the interstate and several surrounding cities. He has no unusual marketing plan to bring in an audience but feels there is a desire in Coopertown for an entertainment vehicle of this type.
“I believe it can and will be profitable and sustainable,” he wrote. Crawley anticipates the drive-in will open in the spring of 2024.
As Hannah, the MDI construction supervisor, watched pieces of the screen being hoisted through the air, he acknowledged the uproar that took place in Franklin when the closure was announced. “We’re only about 40 minutes from here,” he said. “So, people who love the drive-in can come on over to Coopertown. It’s not going far from home.”
Gary Price, the former owner of the Franklin Drive-In, sold the business in January of this year to former Franklin resident Greg Burrell through H. G. Capital, LLC in Bowling Green. The drive-in had been a staple in the Franklin community, located on Nashville Road near the Kentucky-Tennessee border, for over 45 years. Price said several considerations went into the decision to sell. Increased traffic and lights, a much busier highway, and the popularity of watching movies at home were noted. Looming retirement was also a factor for consideration. “My family has owned and operated the Franklin Drive-In for 33 years,” Price stated. "It makes us sad to sell it, but not one of the reasons for selling is going to change it for the better. So we just sat down and read the writing on the wall.”
BY JANET SCOTT
