Work could begin early next year on the building of a long-planned and expensive soundstage that will go up on the main campus of New Mexico State University in Las Cruces.
The project, which is being done in collaboration with the university’s pro-business development Arrowhead Center, will see the construction of what is expected to be a 20,000-square-foot soundstage, as well as several production support buildings.
NMSU officials as well as members of the group Film Las Cruces have pushed for the building of the project for several years, arguing that the existence of a modern soundstage will prove a significant asset to Hollywood production companies that want to film in the city.
The project is expected to cost around $15 million to build, a figure agreed to earlier this summer by members of the school’s Board of Regents.
As quoted in the New Mexico Sun, Mateo Frazier, acting executive director of the New Mexico Media Arts Collective, said the soundstage project could prove a “game-changer” for the state’s film industry.
“It bridges education and professional production, creating invaluable opportunities for our students, while attracting major projects to southern New Mexico,” Frazier remarked.
That the state’s film industry is booming is without questions. According to the New Mexico Economic Development Department, more than $5.7 billion has thus far been spent by both film and TV production companies doing work in New Mexico.
Las Cruces, along with Albuquerque and Santa Fe, earlier this year was prominently included in Movie Maker Magazine’s “best places to live and work as a movie maker.” The popularity of the Land of Enchantment has also been helped by tax credits offered by the State of New Mexico for expenses incurred by production companies while filming their projects.
If all goes according to plans, work on the NMSU sound stage is expected to be completed by early 2026.
By Garry Boulard
