Louisville Gardens reopens as Louisville Studios at the Gardens in 2027. The $70 million conversion turns the 120-year-old former arena into Kentucky’s first dedicated film and television soundstage facility.
What’s Planned
The project delivers two indoor soundstages totaling 40,000 square feet of production space plus 40,000 square feet of office suites for lease by production companies. Developers Unbridled Films, Sylmar Studios and Poe Companies lead the build. All three bring direct experience in film production and commercial real estate.
City officials awarded the contract after the Kentucky General Assembly released $10 million in February 2025. The allocation ties directly to Senate Bill 1, signed by Gov. Andy Beshear, which created the Kentucky Film Office under the Cabinet for Economic Development. That office now coordinates marketing, crew training and production support statewide. Kentucky’s revived tax incentive program, capped at $75 million annually, supplies the economic engine.
Timeline
Construction starts late 2026 and finishes in two years. Crews currently perform environmental remediation on asbestos and structural unknowns typical of a National Register historic building. Developers applied for state and federal historic tax credits to offset costs. They will install a front-of-house museum that preserves the venue’s concert and sports legacy, including relocation of the original wood pipe organ.
Before its 2008 closure, Louisville Gardens hosted 6,000-seat events. The building sat idle in storage until now. Merry-Kay Poe, CEO of Louisville-based Unbridled Films, states the facility will anchor crew development: “This creates a workplace where professionals identify one another, strengthen the base and grow projects.” She adds it retains homegrown talent who otherwise leave for coastal markets.
Tony Guanci, CEO of Sylmar Studios, confirms the timeline: structural steel and wall integrity checks take time, but work proceeds on schedule. The project creates more than 50 full-time jobs averaging nearly $60 per hour.
Bringing Production to Kentucky
Mayor Craig Greenberg calls the investment a jobs multiplier that extends beyond city limits. Poe emphasizes the non-traditional nature of the work: crews build experiences, not widgets, and the studio supplies the permanent base they need.
For commercial photographers, directors and producers scouting the Southeast, Louisville Studios at the Gardens changes the math. Pair 80,000 square feet of controlled stages and offices with Kentucky’s incentive stack and you get a viable alternative to Atlanta or Wilmington without the travel overhead. Soundstage leases will move fast once doors open.
