Disney/ABC unveils plans for new soundstage
Last Updated: Thursday, October 29, 2009 | 1:04 PM ET
CBC News
The Walt Disney Co. has filed plans to build an expansive new soundstage and production facility north of Los Angeles — welcome news amid the shaky economic climate and the persistent runaway productions escaping California.
Disney and ABC Studios filed plans with county officials on Wednesday to build a 23-hectare production facility on its sprawling Golden Oak Ranch in the Santa Clarita Valley.
The property has been Disney's since the late 1950s and served as an outdoor setting for many TV shows and movies, from Lassie to Old Yeller to Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.
The proposal calls for 12 soundstages as well as production offices, a commissary and other buildings that could house film, television and new media staff. Disney/ABC's current slate of projects is spread among its existing few soundstages as well as rented space in others.
According to Disney figures, if the facility is approved, it will create an estimated 2,800 production jobs and generate $533 million US in annual economic activity, not to mention the activity created by the construction effort.
California's entertainment community has suffered both from the recession and the continuing trend of runaway productions: TV shows and movie projects leaving the state for other locales offering more favourable tax breaks and credits, including New York, New Mexico and Canada.
The company did not reveal its financial investment in the project, which has a tentative construction start date of 2013.
Calif. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was among those congratulating Disney for the project, saying in a statement that it "will create quality jobs and a great deal of direct economic activity … here in California."
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