Dan Snyder, the billionaire owner of Washington’s National Football League team, insisted his new 300-foot super yacht have the world’s first floating Imax theater, a feature that added $3 million to the cost.
The yacht, built by the Dutch boat builder Feadship, partly owned by the LVMH group, cost the Redskins’ owner about $100 million, reported the Guardian.
“He wanted an Imax, that was his main request,” said Jan-Bart Verkuyl, chief executive of Feadship’s Royal Van Lent shipyard.
As a result, the Lady S had to be built around the large-format cinema.
The work required adjustments to minimize sound and vibrations coming from the engine — a requirement before Imax Corp. approved the project.
Snyder’s yacht also features a pair of 8K high-definition televisions, a helipad, four VIP suites and facilities for sports including golf, basketball, volleyball and football.
Naval architect Ed Beckett, who works for the British firm Burgess, said the inclusion of the theater made the building process “much more complicated and expensive”, because the ship had to be designed to be much quieter, so the movie experience wasn’t interfered with.
“You couldn’t have sound from the IMAX drifting into the cabins next door, and, more importantly, you couldn’t have the sound of the engines or vibrations coming into the IMAX,” said Beckett.
“If they did we would not get the certification from IMAX – and that was the most important thing for the owner,’ he added.
The demand for private IMAX theaters is said to have become so prevalent the company has set up it’s own specialist branch to cater to the needs of the super-rich.
“The entertainment solution is so all-encompassing it transcends reality, maximizing your sensory immersion and taking you to heights never before attained,” the company says on it’s website.
“IMAX Private Theater is for those who embrace the future, and who want to live it today.”
The 54-year-old Snyder and his wife, Tanya, also own a smaller – just 225 feet – yacht called Lady Anne.
The Snyders were on hand in Kaag, in South Holland, Netherlands, for Lady S’s launch last October; they’ll take delivery of the yacht in the spring.
In case you’re wondering, it costs roughly $10 million a year to maintain a yacht that size.