Arlington officials recommended in an informal staff report for the city to develop a formal strategy to attract film and other media production in the city.
The report comes after Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law Senate Bill 22, which invests $1.5 billion into the Texas film industry and goes into effect on Sept. 1, according to The Dallas Morning News. The bill was promoted by famous Texas-born actors like Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson and director Taylor Sheridan.
A big win, according to the report, would be for the city to secure a Media Production Development Zone (MPDZ) in Arlington. That would provide tax breaks for the creation or renovation of a media production site, making Arlington more attractive to the media industry. The tax breaks could count toward sound stages, animation studios and video game studios.
Staff recommended the city find a qualifying production facility to apply for the MPDZ or through the economic development department find a company that wants to build a production studio in Arlington that qualifies for the MPDZ.
鈥淲ithin our zone there's only one city that's gone after that, it's Fort Worth,鈥� Marty Wieder, executive director of the Arlington Economic Development Corporation, said at Tuesday鈥檚 city council work session. 鈥淪o there's room for us to pursue that.鈥�
The media industry had a $655 million impact on Fort Worth from 2016 to 2023, according to the staff report.
Wieder also said city officials had conversations with Great American Media, which is headquartered in Arlington and makes family and faith-based shows and getting help from city staff who have experience with the media production zones.
The city could also explore developing its own film incentive program independent of the state, according to the staff report. Many large cities like .
The state鈥檚 $1.5 billion investment through Senate Bill 22 will fund tax rebates film productions receive for filming in Texas. It also gives the productions more of a rebate if they film in a rural or historic area or if 5% of their crew are veterans.
Arlington has been designated Film Friendly by the Texas Film Commission since 2016. That helps market the city as a filming location and means staff are trained on how to help movie producers work in the city, according to the .
Arlington has been home to movies and shows like 鈥淟ogan鈥檚 Run,鈥� 鈥淏ull Durham,鈥� 鈥淛FK,鈥� 鈥淎merican Sniper鈥� and 鈥淗ouse Hunters,鈥� according to the .
According to the report, staff members have seen an increase of filming interest since 2021 and have recently started using an app called that helps them track movie productions and how much they boost spending in the city.
The city is also looking to incentivize other types of media production in the city like animation, video games, visual effects and virtual reality through the Digital Media Friendly Texas Certified Community Program.
Staff said Arlington is one of three cities in the process of applying for this certification and expect to be certified in 2026.
Dylan Duke is 四虎影院's summer 2025 SPJ news intern. Got a tip? Email Dylan Duke at dduke@kera.org.
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