Posted on: August 20, 2024, 02:09 am.
Last updated on: August 20, 2024, 02:32.
Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) announced Tuesday that it will invest $8.5 billion in a partnership with UNLV to lease and operate a film and television studio in Nevada built by Birtcher Development. However, the Los Angeles-based studio’s commitment is contingent on the passage of a film tax credit bill by the Nevada legislature.
The Nevada Film Studio Infrastructure Act was introduced and authored by Senator Roberta Lange (D-LV) during the 2023 legislative session, but failed to pass on June 6, 2023, and is scheduled to be reintroduced in February 2025.
“When we speak with citizens, we hear time and time again that we need to continue to diversify our Southern Nevada economy while also providing the resources to develop our workforce,” Senator Lange said in a press release. “These are top priorities for all of us, and I am proud to say my legislation accomplishes both.”
SB 496 proposes transferable tax credits for film and television production of up to $190 million annually for more than two decades, far exceeding the state’s previous use of transferable tax credits. Although these credits could cost the state $2 billion, supporters of the bill argue that they could raise up to $55 billion in revenue over the next 20 years.
Cinema city?
Warner Bros. Studios Nevada, which according to the press release will include “full-service film and television studios and other facilities designed to utilize new technologies related to WBD content creation,” will be located at UNLV’s Harry Reid Research & Technology Park in Las Vegas, where the Nevada Media and Technology Lab will be established for the university’s film department.
“It’s safe to say that having a leading partner with the strength of Warner Bros. and its ability to keep the studios full from day one is a critical differentiator and enables us to successfully meet those two priorities,” Lange said.
Previously, WBD competitor Sony Pictures Entertainment had expressed interest in partnering with UNLV and Birtcher. Instead, Sony partnered with the Howard Hughes Corporation on a competing $1.8 billion film studio project planned for 30 acres in the Las Vegas suburb of Summerlin.
In March, the Clark County Zoning Commission voted unanimously to support this project.
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