Newcastle's Tower Cinemas has been sold quietly off-market.
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A recent report from Event Hospitality and Entertainment revealed the ASX-listed company had sold the iconic King Street venue in the second half of 2021.
The sale price and buyer have not been disclosed, nor the buyer's future plans for the site.
In a statement, Event confirmed the sale, which will be finalised "in the coming months".
"The decision to close the cinema was based on our strong commitment to keep reinvesting in our other venues in the region," the statement read.
"We are delighted to continue to serve the local community at our Event Cinemas Kotara, ... and our family cinema Event Cinemas Glendale.
"Our promise to provide exceptional movie experiences in the Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and Hunter region is stronger than ever and we truly appreciate the community's ongoing support."
RELATED: End of an era as Tower set to close
First opening in April 1976, Tower Cinemas established itself as a Newcastle icon before closing its doors in December 2018.
News of the venue's closure prompted passionate Newcastle movie-goer Sinead Francis-Coan to start a 'Save The Tower' campaign, which has since collected more than 7000 signatures.
Ms Francis-Coan said she was disappointed with Event's lack of public communication on plans for the building given its significance to locals.
"Event Cinemas have been well aware of the community interest in this premises," she said.
"The two main requests of this campaign have been for the Towers to remain as a cinema under different ownership [or] management and for Event to inform the community of their intentions.
"Given the interest we have expressed it was highly disappointing to learn of [the sale] from an online report."
A discernible decline in attendance, the increasing popularity of other cinemas and a shortage of car parks were all reported as factors in the decision to close in 2018.
Scott Seddon, owner of Scotty's Cinema Raymond Terrace, said re-opening the three-theatre, 1576-seat cinema would be "a huge job" for any new owner.
"It is sad to see it go as a piece of history, it's also sad to see us not have a cinema in the inner city, but it is very much a dinosaur," he said.
"There's not enough screens and too many seats. It's very difficult to run any complex with low screen count.
"The opportunity is there but you would need to throw a few million at it."
The land at 183 King Street has B4 mixed use zoning and a building height limit of 10 metres.
The property had been listed for lease between April 2019 and January 2021.