The night before Labor Day, storm clouds were threatening to open on the gravel lot of Champions Drive-In as the outdoor theater closed its first season.

Only a couple of cars were parked in front of the massive screen an hour before showtime. And operators Barb and Ed Stofferahn were nervous.

Up to 100 cars a night were coming just three weeks ago, Barb said. "We were just starting to pick up, and then it started to rain."

Ed, her husband, chalked it up to "the risk of running an outdoor business," and a new one at that — the theater's first showing ever took place on June 27.

At the end of that truncated first summer, the operators report that they experienced some serious glitches along the way, struggled at times to build an audience — but are determined to make a go of the venture nonetheless.

After all, a drive-in theater isn't just any start-up. Small theaters have almost disappeared from the American landscape, and drive-ins are even more endangered. The Twin Cities once had more than three dozen of them. Today, there are just two: Champions and Valley-Hi in Lake Elmo. There are four more out-of-state.

Peter and Deena Sotelo say the uncertain future of these theaters is one reason they drove 70 miles from Hayfield, Minn., with their kids to see the double-feature of "How to Train Your Dragon 2" and "Expendables 3."

Their 7- and 9 year-olds are wiggling in blankets on the roof of the family SUV, their 14 year-old sitting in the back with the hatch opened. Peter and Deena sit in front with camp chairs.

This is the fifth year the Sotelos have marked the end of summer with a drive-in movie.

"I want to make sure the kids can see it before they all disappear," he said. "What better way to show them how we grew up?"

The Sotelos had originally planned to go to Valley-Hi in Lake Elmo. Then they heard about Champions Drive-In, 40 miles closer.

That's a good sign for the theater: Families are its primary audience, the Stofferahns said, and they choose movies that cater to them.

But despite radio and newspaper ads, it has been a struggle to get more families to the theater.

Next season, Ed Stofferahn said, he wants to promote the theater as a family-night-out destination at YMCAs. And because some customers will drive more than an hour to watch a movie outdoors, he also wants to advertise further away.

Next season will also be a chance to iron out bumps.

The Stofferahns planned movies so lights and noise from baseball games in the nearby field wouldn't interfere with the movies. They found out the hard way that teams played on nights not listed on the public field schedule.

Then there are the rules. When the theater posted its policies, a number of Facebook users complained they were too strict — no tailgating, no outside food or beverage, no drinking alcohol outside the regulated liquor service area.

But Stofferahn said those regulations were decided by the city of Elko New Market, whose officials had assumed the drive-in would have the same atmosphere and audience as its much-louder race nights, which is not the case.

"The city, when they set this up, didn't realize the family drive-in is a very good neighbor."

He hopes that by building a good reputation this year, the city will cut the theater some slack on certain regulations, like the ban on outside coolers, for next season.

Even if that happens, the theater will still depend on concessions. Theaters don't make enough on tickets alone.

"If everyone brought their own food in," he said, "we'd have to shut our doors."

An ideal situation would allow customers to bring in some of their own refreshments, but also buy some to support the theater.

With start-up costs including a massive screen and an $80,000 projector, the drive-in was never going to break even on its first year.

But Stofferahn said that Tom Ryan, who owns the theater and the racetrack, is committed to the new venture for years to come: "It's gonna take what it's gonna take."

Decisions, decisions

Next month, after the race season is over, Ryan and the Stofferahns will sit down and discuss how to adjust operations for the next year. To increase concession sales, they may build a new stand closer to the theater lot.

In the long run, the Stofferahns are confident they can build an audience. They already have a base of repeat customers, including families and high school students, some of whom heard about the theater from their friends who work at the racetrack.

Other teens learned about drive-ins from their nostalgic parents. Tanner Kerns, a junior at Lakeville South, jokes about those stories in an old-geezer voice: "Back in our day …"

He was there with four other friends, juniors and seniors at Lakeville South, mostly from Elko New Market.

One friend, Brianna, was coming to her fourth show at the theater; Kerns and Teagan Velin, also a junior, were coming for the second time.

Even as the drizzle increased, the students were giddy with energy as they decided who should sit in which of three vehicles they came in. There was just one more night before the school year started, but it felt like a different season.

Velin, celebrating her 16th birthday, summed it up.

"It's a good summer hangout."

Erin Adler • 952-746-3283