TAMPA - Channelside Cinemas, the company that runs the IMAX theater in the Channel District, filed a bankruptcy petition in federal court Wednesday.

The filing was a voluntary Chapter 11 claim, which generally allows a company to reorganize and pay debtors over time. Among the cinema's creditors are Bank of America, Channelside Bay Mall and the Florida Department of Revenue.

Several businesses have left the Channelside Bay Plaza or been evicted in the past two years. Owners of former attractions blamed their struggles on a down economy and a significant decrease in traffic.