16-05-2025
Texarkana wants to be a friendly place for the film industry
TEXARKANA, Texas (KTAL/KMSS) — Members of the Texarkana, TX City Council heard a presentation during Monday's (May 12) meeting on efforts to gain certification as a Film Friendly Texas community.
'We're just excited for what the opportunity would bring becoming a destination and a film friendly community that's recognized by a lot of filmmakers, whether it's for a big TV series production or just something small for a commercial.' says Brooke Stone, Communications Manager for the City of Texarkana, TX.
The certification acts as a stamp of approval from the governor's office that a community is eager and willing to welcome the film industry.
'We have the resources we have the infrastructure, and we have hopefully community support.' says Stone.
The city says there are a few reasons why the community should support this initiative.
'You could be an extra and that could be cool, but I think overall we're going to see a boost in economic activity.' says Stone, 'A crew of let's say 50, coming for about 3 months, they're going to be staying in our hotels, eating at our local restaurants, shopping with us, and we estimated that to be worth around $69,000 in hotel occupancy alone.'
As for convincing film crews to take advantage of Texarkana, part of the process of gaining certification is submitting photos of possible filming locations, and they believe the unique look of the city could certainly draw attention.
'Lots of all of our parks, you know, beautiful backdrops, the Perot theater, local coffee shops.' says Stone, 'But of course, some of our more historical landmarks certainly made the cut.'
Members of the Texarkana, TX City Council heard a presentation during Monday's (May 12) meeting on efforts to gain certification as a Film Friendly Texas community.
The city council will vote on a filming ordinance at their next meeting on June 9th. It is one of the required steps to gain certification and would lay out guidelines for filming that include ensuring that it would not cause major disruptions.
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