Oklahoma to transform a city church into film studio

Buffalo Roam Studios will transform an Oklahoma church into a film studio. 

The plan is to retrofit Bartlesville's First Christian Church into a facility with two soundstages, classrooms, production offices, a screening room and other amenities with the goal to attract filmmakers to the Oklahoma city while maintaining the original aesthetic of the building.

Additionally, they plan to build a 10,000-square-foot soundstage along the north side of the original building which will include soundstages, bringing the combined soundstage footprint to nearly 20,000 square feet, with an additional 15,000 square feet of office space, post-production suites and meeting rooms.

In addition to the $2 million (£1.6m) in matching funds from the Bartlesville City Council, Buffalo Roam received  $1m (£800k) from the Economic Development Fund, $1m (£800k) from Bartlesville Redevelopment Trust Authority and $2 million (£1.6m) from private funding from the developers. 

As reported by the Examiner Enterprise, Mike Bailey, Bartlesville city manager, said the city is an attractive location, as filmmakers can take advantage of the Oklahoma film incentives and the Cherokee Nation's film incentive.