SOURCE: Cleveland 19 News | Colton Molesky – WOIO
August 14, 2024
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – For weeks, the filming of the movie Superman took over downtown Cleveland, and the organization Greater Cleveland Film Commission is working to continue growing the industry in Northeast Ohio.
So this year, we’ve already had 80 million in production that’s been spent here already,” said President Bill Garvey. “This year, we’ve been able to attract 148 million dollars to come to choose Northeast Ohio, and with the latest round that was just announced, another 68 million on top of that.”
Garvey says movie-making ballooned to the tune of $243 billion in 2023. The commission’s goal is to bring more of that spending to Ohio, but it’s more than just hotels and food.
“We want to build on that {prior success}, build on our past successes, and grow this even more than it has grown,” said Garvey.
He says as more projects come to the state, there is more opportunity for people to create jobs in the industry, sustaining businesses and employee people in the Cleveland area.
The big key is the 30% tax credit offered to projects on spending in the state. And that investment in the industry has doubled.
“So with the doubling of the cap that attracts these projects, that means double the amount of money spent here in the state, that drives more investment into the state that drives more jobs into the state,” said Garvey.
The goal is to keep building on the growth Northeast Ohio is seeing, which happens via the film commission selling projects on Cleveland and surrounding areas as a location.
It’s a pitch Garvey says is helped when big projects like Superman come to town and showcase just what Ohio can offer.
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