Lakshmi Reddi Interim Provost and Chief Academic Officer | nmsu.edu
A planned $15 million soundstage complex at New Mexico State University’s Arrowhead Park is expected to attract film and television projects that will draw millions of dollars to the area and help creative media students gain valuable experience.
In June, the NMSU Board of Regents unanimously approved an agreement between the New Mexico Economic Development Department (NMEDD), NMSU, and Arrowhead Center Inc. to build the 36,400-square-foot soundstage complex for film and television productions. NMSU and Doña Ana Community College (DACC) creative media students will also have opportunities for paid internships working on these productions.
“This is a tremendous day for the film community in Las Cruces and southern New Mexico,” said state Sen. Jeff Steinborn, president of Film Las Cruces who led the effort to secure funding for the Las Cruces soundstage. “Creating a studio and soundstage in Las Cruces has long been a goal of Film Las Cruces and local filmmakers, and this new facility will add extremely valuable film production infrastructure to our region. Having been named by MovieMaker Magazine as a top city in America to live and work as a filmmaker, this is a significant step forward in Las Cruces' ability to continue to support high-quality film productions."
Soundstages are large, soundproofed buildings essential for films to create sets in controlled environments. They are commonly used for creating unique film sets or series productions that use the same filming location over extended periods.
The project is funded by NMEDD as part of the statewide Media Arts Collective Initiative aimed at growing the state’s film industry. Once completed, NMSU will lease the soundstage to a company responsible for operations and maintenance, which will either film their own productions at the complex or lease it out to other production companies, said Wayne Savage, executive director of Arrowhead Park.
The company operating the complex will be selected through a request-for-proposals process already underway. Savage said they hope to have a company contracted by January 2026 when construction is expected to be completed.
“This soundstage complex at NMSU's Arrowhead Park is a game-changer for New Mexico’s film industry,” said Mateo Frazier, New Mexico Media Arts Collective acting executive director. “It bridges education and professional production, creating invaluable opportunities for our students while attracting major projects to southern New Mexico. This facility embodies our vision of a thriving film and media arts ecosystem that benefits our entire state.”
Arrowhead Center Inc. will manage development of the complex located south of DACC’s Creative Media Technology building at Arrowhead Park near where the proposed NMSU Creative Media Institute building will be situated. All three buildings form part of the envisioned Las Cruces Creative Campus by Kevin Boberg, Ph.D., Arrowhead Center’s first director and CEO who passed away in 2021.
“Dr. Boberg was a strong believer in this colocation idea to benefit students, research, and industry,” Savage said. “This will bring lots of opportunities for students when they graduate as well as have a significant economic impact on the community.”
Savage noted that the soundstage complex is expected to create 200 new full-time jobs and increase local film crew capacity regularly working on productions in the area. The complex could attract TV series spending between $12 million to $15 million over six months on food, lodging, and other services; mid-sized films might spend about $4 million over two months.
“The soundstage will be a real game-changer for southern New Mexico,” said filmmaker Ross Marks, executive director of the Las Cruces International Film Festival and professor at NMSU’s Creative Media Institute. “It will finally even out playing field allowing us to attract both big studio shows and small independent films.”
The agreement between NMSU, Arrowhead Center Inc., and NMEDD spans 12 years: two years for development followed by ten years of operation after which NMSU can decide whether to continue using it as a soundstage or convert it for other purposes.
Savage indicated that groundbreaking is targeted sometime during Q1 2025.
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