New movie studio breaks ground in Las Cruces

LAS CRUCES — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham congratulated the leadership of New Mexico State University as well as Doña Ana County’s filmmaker community Tuesday during a ceremonial groundbreaking for a new $15 million movie studio at the university’s Arrowhead Center.

Joining the governor was New Mexico Film Office Director Steve Graham, who welcomed the start of construction as a momentous step in building the local film industry and professional training.

“This means that kids growing up in Lovington or in Las Cruces or in Pojoaque are going to know that they can have a career in film,” Graham said. “High-paying jobs, union jobs, jobs with benefits, where they get to exercise their creative endeavors and make a living here.”

In her remarks, Lujan Grisham expressed support for New Mexico’s film industry as a growing sector in the state’s economy, from visiting production companies filming in the state to a growing industrial base and professional labor force based in southern New Mexico as well as Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

The governor used her remarks to celebrate Las Cruces lawmakers, including state Sen. Jeff Steinborn and state Rep. Nathan Small, as well as NMSU faculty and administration, for what she described as a competitive bid culminating in the $15 million investment by the state Economic Development Department in the future Arrowhead Park Studios. Steinborn is the board president of Film Las Cruces and a longtime advocate of the region’s film industry; Small chairs the House Appropriations and Finance Committee, holding a powerful role in steering the state’s budget and spending priorities.

Lujan Grisham praised the region’s “local leaders and local legislators for their continued effort at making sure that we build southern New Mexico as fast as we build every other community. And frankly, today it might be outpacing everybody else.”

The actual construction site is a grassy lot a short distance away from Tuesday’s event, which was held next to Doña Ana Community College’s Creative Media Technology building, home to an industry-standard soundstage and classrooms for game development and graphic and web design, including a room equipped for motion-capture filming.

The 14,000-square-foot Cholla Hall officially opened a year ago as the beachhead of a planned “creative campus” to include professional film and television production facilities. After this story was published, the university clarified that plans for new headquarters for KRWG Public Media and NMSU’s Creative Media Institute changed late last year. "NMSU is currently still working on an approach to provide CMI a new home, though that location may remain on the main campus," a university spokesperson said.

The studio design envisions a 36,400-square-foot production center, including a sound stage, production building and storage facilities, to be leased by the university to a private operator, with guarantees for paid internship opportunities for students. Production is projected for completion in December 2026.

NMSU regents approved a 12-year agreement with the EDD last year to develop the facility at its Arrowhead Center, east of the main Las Cruces campus. At the time, the studio was projected to be worth up to $500,000 in annual revenue from leasing its facilities while offering training opportunities for students. Industry experts said it would also address a shortage of high-demand production facilities statewide.

At the conclusion of the agreement, the university would be free to convert the facilities for other uses if it wishes.

This story has been updated to clarify plans for the "creative campus" at the Arrowhead Center.