Tarrant Regional Water District has terminated the lease for Coyote Drive-In in Fort Worth, Texas, with plans to begin the Panther Island development. This development plans to turn the land that Coyote Drive in sits on into a island that will have 500 acres of luxury housing, a 3 acre park, and a boardwalk that will more than likely have luxury apartments over the shops.

Coyote Drive-In has been a part of the DFW community for 14 years. If you grew up in the area in the early 2000s, there’s a good chance you remember going there with your family. For many people, it’s more than just a movie theater, it’s a place that has been part of their childhood and their memories of growing up in DFW.

The drive-in also provides an option that traditional movie theaters simply can’t. Families with babies and young children can enjoy a movie without having to worry about a child crying, getting restless, or making noise and disturbing everyone else in the theater. You can stay in your own vehicle, step outside when your child needs a break, and enjoy a movie together in a much more relaxed environment. It’s also a more affordable form of entertainment for many families than taking everyone to a traditional movie theater as Coyote drive in has kept the same prices for years. A ticket ranges from 0$-11$  on their busy days.  

DFW is already becoming increasingly expensive, particularly for young families. I understand the need for development and additional public spaces, but I don’t understand why we should lose one of the few remaining drive-in theaters in the area in order to build a luxury housing development. There are plenty of opportunities to build new developments in DFW,  and TRWD purposely brought up a flood plain so that they could use our tax dollars to build this development. Frankly the plan for the now Panther Island plan started over 14 years ago when maybe DFW needed these types of public spaces and housing. However with overall development in DFW exploding in the past decade I no longer see this as something more than a money grab for TRWD disguised as “flood control.” The Panther Island plan is going to take away one of the few inexpensive family friendly things to do in DFW,  and replace it with a 3 acre park and 500 acres of luxury housing completed with with open water which would make it a unsafe place to go for families with disabled children, young children, or children and adults with special needs. On top of this, again it’s being funded by our tax dollars. 

If you grew up going to Coyote, have taken your own children there, or simply believe that Fort Worth should preserve unique and affordable community spaces, please consider signing the petition and sharing it.

Help keep Coyote Drive-In a part of Fort Worth