LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX 5) — Sony Pictures Entertainment is the second film studio to announce progress that could bring thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in investment, all pending tax credit approval by the Nevada Legislature.
This follows an announcement Tuesday by Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. that it has committed to investing billions of dollars in another film studio site southwest of Las Vegas, pending tax credits from the bill.
“We’ve been working on this project for three years and we’re ready to break ground and we’re ready to start,” said Tony Vinciquerra, chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment. “It’s a ‘no brainer’ to build an entertainment world here because people want to work here. Talent, directors, producers, they all want to come to Las Vegas,” Vinciquerra told FOX 5.
Vinciquerra spoke to the crowd at the Global Economic Alliance’s “Vision 2024” event in Las Vegas and then took questions from reporters.
The chairman and CEO said Sony Pictures is prepared to immediately invest $500 million to open Summerlin Studios on 31 acres at the intersection of Flamingo Road and Town Center Drive. The project is being developed in partnership with the Howard Hughes Corporation.
Vinciquerra said the project would create 18,000 jobs.
On Tuesday, Warner Bros. Discovery announced that the new facility at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas’ Harry Reid Research and Technology Park has been christened “Warner Bros. Studios Nevada.”
A spokesman said Thursday that Warner Bros. Discovery will invest $900 million to build the studios and has committed to spending $500 million a year (for a total of $8.5 billion over 17 years) on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas’ Harry Reid Research and Technology Park near the 215 Beltway and Durango Drive, creating 7,500 jobs annually.
State Sen. Roberta Lange is spearheading this effort by introducing a bill in the Senate that would provide for an extensive partnership with UNLV for career development.
A Warner Bros. Discovery spokesman said the studio stands to be approved for about $100 million in tax credits per year for 17 years.
In the Assembly, Majority Leader Sandra Jauregui is leading a separate bill to support Summerlin Studios and Sony Pictures Entertainment and create workforce training programs.
Howard Hughes CEO David O’Reilly said the company plans to request $100 million in tax credits.
“They should think about what’s best for the state of Nevada, and if they want to approve both, good luck to them and do so,” Vinciquerra said.
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