ALBERTVILLE, Ala. – Exciting news for movie lovers on Sand Mountain: dirt is now being moved for a new movie theater there.

Albertville city leaders joined the development team to break ground on the new state-of-the-art Lucas Cinemas.

News 19 first reported the 10-screen, luxury-seating theater in 2019.

It was expected to be finished by Christmas 2020, but there were some delays.

“There was a lot of different things but with financing, bank financing, and you had all the PPP rolling out at the same time so a lot of that hindered some of the financing and the coronavirus. Certainly once that happened, everything just kind of got put on hold until we knew it was going to be safe to come back,” said Albertville Economic Development Director Mike Price.

He says the project has been in the works for the last three or four years total.

Lucas Cinemas in Albertville is expected to be complete by Summer 2022.

It will be located on U.S. Highway 431 across from Shepherd’s Cove Hospice Thrift Store.

“Having something for kids to do, families to do without having to leave the county without having to go to a bigger city has been a real focus for this administration and this is just another piece of that puzzle. It’s really exciting to have it here,” added Price.

Price tells News 19 he hopes the new development will naturally draw in other businesses to the city.