Published November 6, 2026
NEWPORT BEACH | AROUND NEWPORT | NOVEMBER 6, 2026
For 35 years, the Balboa Theater has watched the peninsula go by from behind dark doors. Now the old movie house has a new owner, a sale just under $2 million and a promise to bring it back. After this many false starts, locals get to ask what “back” means.
The sale
The sale of 707 E. Balboa Blvd. closed Oct. 23. The L.A. Times reports local buyers Matthew and Danielle Peters paid just under $2 million to Balboa Theater Co. LLC, tied to LAB Holding’s Linda Sadeghi. LAB Holding is the Costa Mesa company behind The LAB and The CAMP, so the old CAMP connection checks out.
The long intermission
The building opened in 1928 as the Ritz Theater and closed in 1991. Its comeback has had more intermissions than a three-hour director’s cut. The city sold it to LAB Holding in 2016 for $1 million. Earlier restoration plans got approvals, renderings and plenty of talk. The doors stayed shut.
The promise
This sale comes with a deed restriction: the property has to stay tied to theater, culture, events or performing arts, though related commercial uses are allowed. The buyers’ representative says the goal is an “elevated restoration.” No detailed plan or reopening date yet.
Promising start. But a quote isn’t a construction schedule. Locals deserve to see the plans, the timeline and the price of getting the lights back on.
After 35 years, this theater has earned more than another “coming soon.”
Sources: Los Angeles Times, Nov. 4, 2026; Los Angeles Times, 2016 sale; Newport Beach 2022 renovation approval; lead photo: Orange County Archives photo, 1974; in-story photo: Sewageboy/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Help us out, Newport.
Read next
Around NewportNewport Beach Turns 120. Here’s What the Balboa Peninsula Looked Like in 1906.Before the boardwalk and the parking tickets, the peninsula was officially swamp land. Then the Red Car showed up, and Newport became a city so somebody could get a liquor…Read story →Suggestion 1 of 5
Around NewportLocal Legend: Newport Waterman Jax Richards Reads the Ocean for a LivingSurf forecaster, Newport Beach lifeguard and lifelong weather nerd, Jax Richards is the local behind a lot of the surf calls you check before paddling out.Read story →Suggestion 2 of 5
Around NewportLocal Legend: Streets to the Sheets. Zeus Went From Fremont Street to Blackie’s LegendFound hungry and hot on Fremont Street in Las Vegas, Zeus is now a gold-chained gentle giant and a regular at Blackie's on the Newport boardwalk. Follow him at @newportzeus.Read story →Suggestion 3 of 5
Around NewportNewport-Mesa High School Students Can Take College Classes for Free This SpringHere's something Newport families might actually want to get ahead of: local high school students can take college classes this spring without paying tuition.Read story →Suggestion 4 of 5
Surf & CoastWest Newport Is Getting $1.5 Million in Trucked-In Sand. The 62nd Street Groin Is Still a 1974 IOU.City Hall voted 5-0 to haul river sand into West Newport. The groin it planned at 62nd Street back in 1974 is still missing.Read story →Suggestion 5 of 5