LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Mayor Craig Greenberg has approved a new contract with the development group behind the highly anticipated transformation of the historic Louisville Gardens. Once a popular venue for sporting events and concerts, the 6,000-seat arena will soon be converted into the city’s first-ever dedicated soundstage for film and television production.
The Louisville Gardens, which opened its doors in 1905, has been closed since 2008 and has since been used for storage. However, the revitalization project will breathe new life into the building, with plans to offer two indoor soundstages designed to accommodate feature-length films, commercials, and short-term shoots. The project will also include 40,000 square feet of production space, as well as an additional 40,000 square feet of office space that will be leased to production companies utilizing the venue.
Mayor Greenberg allocated $10 million of Kentucky General Assembly funding toward the redevelopment of the facility. Construction is expected to begin later this year, with the completed soundstages projected to create more than 50 full-time jobs in the local community, offering hourly wages of $58.
“As Louisville’s burgeoning film industry continues to grow, the Louisville Gardens Sound Stages will be the perfect venue for production companies looking for a new, world-class space to make films, TV shows, commercials, and more,” said Mayor Greenberg. “The project creates jobs, repurposes a historic vacant building, and adds to the great momentum we’re experiencing in downtown Louisville.”
The redevelopment is a joint venture between Unbridled Films, Sylmar Studios, and Poe Companies, each bringing expertise in film production and real estate development. Merry-Kay Poe, co-founder of Unbridled Films, expressed excitement about the project, highlighting how the new infrastructure will help attract larger productions to Kentucky, which will benefit not only the creative and technical sectors but also local businesses.
“Infrastructure such as the Louisville Gardens Sound Stages enables more and larger productions to consider Kentucky as their filming location, creating more jobs in the creative and technical sectors, as well as supporting businesses,” Poe said. “We are thrilled to repurpose this historic piece of Louisville history as a state-of-the-art facility for film and media production.”
Tony Guanci, CEO of Sylmar Studios, echoed Poe’s enthusiasm, expressing his company’s commitment to the growing film industry in Kentucky.
The transformation of Louisville Gardens into soundstages for film production was initially announced in December 2022 under the leadership of former Mayor Greg Fischer. The Louisville Metro Government signed a letter of intent with River City Entertainment Group to explore the possibility of repurposing the historic venue. Remediation of the building began in 2022 and concluded in March 2024. The project took a significant step forward with a revised letter of intent in July 2024.
Once completed, the Louisville Gardens Sound Stages are expected to be a game-changer for the city’s entertainment landscape, supporting the growth of Kentucky’s film industry and contributing to the economic vitality of the region.
