In our efforts to build Babs Do Studios in Nevada, we have been met with a surprising amount of skepticism and many negative comments and points of view regarding the film industry and even the need for such entertainment infrastructure in the state due to “the current market”. Despite these statements, the speakers gloss over the point of major film studios like Warner Bros., Sony Pictures, and even Walt Disney Studios showing interest in the state as well as the current reality of multiple film tax incentive bills being presented to the state by said studios in 2025.
An interesting news headline came up in our social media channels about the state of New Jersey granting $387 Million Dollars in tax incentives to Netflix Studios to convert Fort Monmouth, a former army installation, into a new film studio site. This news presents a perfect case example of the kind of innovation and building strategy that Babs Do Studios aims to provide for the sake of state film and media infrastructure!
It also cements the fact that “the current market” has a significant interest in spending hundreds of millions of dollars to establish film studio developments outside of California and the Hollywood film industry as a whole.
Nevada’s Need For Change
Nevada has grappled with the economic cost to provide film production tax incentives in the past and now film and media infrastructure being added into the mix with bills from both Warner Bros. and Sony Pictures in 2025, the state can no longer ignore the growing development boom across the country! As state officials have previously balked at the $190 Million Dollar price tag of the failed 2023 SB496 Film Tax Incentive proposal, they will now have to weigh being able to match and even exceed the likes of New Jersey which has granted $387 Million Dollars for just one studio development. Thankfully, Babs Do Studios would be able to provide wide scale economical new age studio facilities if such incentives were available, however, the language of the bills being presented for 2025 still remain to be seen from either Warner Bros. or Sony Pictures.
To reiterate information from our X post about this news, we have had similar studio conversion proposals that we have presented to Las Vegas officials and members of the University of Nevada Las Vegas.
Cashman Center
The first property is the Cashman Center located in Downtown Las Vegas that is a mixed-use sports arena on 55 acres of land that has become outdated for professional sports events. It has hosted a number of non-sports activities with various local events and even a presidential debate in 2008.
- While the main building would require some light upgrades in the form of air conditioning, sound proofing, and power, it would require very little to adapt it for mixed production and office use.
- The sports field can serve as a built-in filming location as opposed to complete dismantling and demolishing to extend the main building, and it can even serve as a site for recreation and studio event use.
- A portion of the ample parking lot areas can be reduced to make room for modular sound stages and mill facilities to truly convert the center into a full-service film studio.
Sam Boyd Stadium
The second property is the Sam Boyd Stadium located across the way in Whitney, Nevada. While the Cashman Center has more to work with as-is, Sam Boyd Stadium is strictly a sports field.
- What is immediately useful for Babs Do Studios is that the stadium sits on 69 acres of land which can house a large number of our modular sound stages and production offices.
- As would be the thought with Cashman Center, the sports field and bleachers could be dismantled and demolished to allow for complete transformation into a large central production facility.
- However, the complication for many stands that the property must be for public use and we have a few ideas for how to work with the city to make this a non-issue if we were granted the property for conversion.
So far, the discussions have been that Cashman Center, which had recently suffered a failed auction due to technicality over land ownership, is going to have the land issues sorted out and put back on auction in January 2025 and most likely at the same starting price of $33.95 Million Dollars. The Sam Boyd Stadium, as far as anyone knows, is undecided but reports claim that it will most likely be torn down and the land put to some alternative use by Clark County.
With the New Jersey and Netflix news, it is clear that Nevada could see the same benefits by state officials working with Babs Do Studios to convert either property into a film studio for the sake of large scale jobs and new industry. By comparison to developments in not only New Jersey but also Georgia, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, New York, and Illinois, economically speaking, even if the city directly donated one or both properties to be utilized for Babs Do Studios development, the city would make far more return on investment with new film studios than by any auction or sale that would see the properties converted into yet more stagnant housing projects or shopping centers as many reports indicate would be the most likely outcome for Cashman Center and Sam Boyd Stadium.
NV Film Tax Bills 2025 – Last Minute Changes
Details of Nevada’s new film tax incentive bills from Warner Bros. and Sony Pictures have yet to be revealed and with the New Year of 2025 only days away, we would recommend that the teams from both studios, their sponsors, and the Nevada Legislature think carefully about the bills being presented if the language of the bills has yet to be finalized. The future of the state’s business positioning for film and media infrastructure and production hangs in the balance and language from the 2023 SB496 bill provided infrastructure incentives only for Sony’s studio which leads many to worry that the outcome for the 2025 bills will continue with this singular focus for either Warner Bros. or Sony Pictures alone.
The current state of the industry demands that state film tax incentives for infrastructure be provided for all studio developments and production incentives can be approved for projects made at any studio, that is if any are even required by the production. This universal approach is key to the success of such incentive programs and the only determining factor left is the creativity of the artists and media professionals that wish to work in the state. As the entertainment industry is growing with new studio space across the country, there is no reason to single out and deny the state of Nevada the chance for other studios to build in the state, thereby also denying the opportunity for new studios like Nevada-born Babs Do Studios to have their start.
In Conclusion
We hope that 2025 will be an incredible year for Babs Do Productions and Babs Do Studios as we look to work together with the State of Nevada to help build the first phase of Babs Do Studios in Las Vegas. The potential is there, whether we convert a property or build new, and while it has become clear that the infrastructure incentives have to be in place for interested investors, we know that Babs Do Studios will be able to make the most impact with the fastest approach to boost Nevada’s economy and infrastructure.
Additionally, with the announced show of support for film studio developments in New Jersey, we want to officially state that we will be evaluating the State of New Jersey to potentially be one of the first states beyond Nevada for Babs Do Studios’ nationwide film and media infrastructure efforts!
Merry Christmas to all and have a wonderful New Year!