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The future of the historic Ituna theatre, a fixture in the community since 1946, is once again at a crossroads after an online auction to sell it drew just a single bid.
The auction, conducted through McDougall Auctioneers, opened this fall for the sale of the theatre located at 407 Main St. N in Ituna, Sask.
Despite the significant interest in the community, only one registered bid came in.
“Unfortunately there was only one person who was enrolled… So $10,000, you can understand that was not unacceptable,” said owner Ajmal Usman.
Usman says the bid did not meet the auction’s reserve price, a minimum price agreed upon beforehand, so the offer was automatically rejected.
“That was the very bottom and usually bidding is started from the very bottom,” he said.
“The reserve was not met. So that’s why the offer was declined.”
He says the auctioneer acted as a middleman, so there was no direct contact between himself and the bidder.
“They work like a bridge,” he said.
The identity of the bidder, listed only as River2005 on the auction platform, remains unknown, which leaves Usman unsure if the attempt came from someone within or outside the Ituna community.
LISTEN | Community raises funds to keep Ituna theatre running:
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Ajmal Usman, owner of Ituna movie theatre, joins The 306 to talk about how the community is raising funds to keep the theatre running.
Meanwhile, several residents had expressed verbal interest in purchasing the theatre.
“People from the town, they contact me, but that [bid] was only verbal,” said Usman.
“So maybe it was outside or a group from the community, but I don’t know about it.”
Owner willing to lower price
Before the auction, Usman says he had been willing to negotiate directly with local buyers who expressed interest.
“For the theatre… I was asking $100,000,” he said. “I’ve become flexible up to $70,000 and said, OK, I can go with that. ”
The Ituna community launched a Community Investment Co-op, allowing residents to invest up to $1,000 toward buying the theatre locally.
Usman says he understands the community’s desire to save the theatre and the memories tied to it, but without a concrete offer, its future remains uncertain
“They have golden memories for sure … Back in the ’50s and ’60s people tell their stories, how it was the movie date night for them,” he said. “They want to keep those memories in the form of the theatre.”
With the reserve unmet and no qualified offer on the table, Usman is now considering selling it — an outcome he describes as a last resort.
“The auction experience was completely failed, maybe the individual items like the seating, projector, sound system, that can be posted for sale,” he said.
Still, Usman remains hopeful he will secure a buyer or the community group will step forward with a concrete offer.