PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh could lose out on millions of dollars if a new television show scraps its plans to shoot in the city because of the state budget impasse.
The show, called "American Gods," was supposed to use 31st Street Studios in the Strip District for filming. However, the impasse has made a film tax credit that entices many movie and TV producers to Pittsburgh unavailable.
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"It's very disheartening because it creates a lot of jobs. You see a lot of jobs behind us," 31st Street Studios CEO Chris Breakwell said.
If there is no resolution to the budget problem soon, "American Gods" might pull out, according to Breakwell. Two other projects could follow suit.
"It's just a road bump, but the more road bumps we have, the more nervous people in LA get about coming to Pittsburgh," Breakwell said.
The producers of "American Gods" told Breakwell that it could be a three-year shoot, and they would start next year. Breakwell said that could mean $60 million spent in the city each year.
The Department of Community & Economic Development released the following statement:
"The 2015-16 tax credit allocation for the Film Tax Credit program will be written into the fiscal code once the allocation is approved. Without a 2015-2016 budget, the department cannot issue award letters because we do not know what limits will be placed on the amounts of tax credits that we are legally allowed to issue. In the past, certain tax credit allocations were reduced or eliminated as part of a final budget agreement. Without such an agreement, we simply do not know whether the program limits that will ultimately be approved for the credits will be higher than, lower than, or the same as the limits that were in effect last year."