A new player in the Oklahoma film industry submitted a proposal to transform the First Christian Church into a film sound stage and film school that could be a beacon for the region.

The proposal was discussed at the Bartlesville City Council meeting on Monday and the council could take action on it at next month's meeting.

Buffalo Roam Studios looks to invest $2 million, and potentially $2 million from a city-funded general obligation bond, to retrofit the church into two soundstages, classrooms, productions offices, a screening room and other amenities that could attract filmmakers to Bartlesville. They also plan to add an additional 10,000-square-foot soundstage that will match the aesthetics of the current building.

"Being able to have a soundstage of that size would enable us to be even more attractive to the projects we are already entertaining," Maria Gus, director of Visit Bartlesville, said. "To be able to have that before Tulsa would be a great feather in Bartlesville's cap."

Mike Bailey, Bartlesville city manager, said the city is in a unique position where filmmakers can take advantage of the Oklahoma film incentives and the Cherokee Nation film incentive, making Bartlesville an attractive location.

"Bartlesville has an excellent reputation [with the film industry]," Gus said. She added Bartlesville is considered one of the top smaller towns for filming, which will distinguish us more.

The comprehensive film production facility, Buffalo Roam Studios, would include 10,000-square-foot, 5,000-square-foot and 3,000-square-foot sound stages and over 15,000 square feet of office space, post-production suites and meeting rooms. The studios will be able to accommodate small and large films, television shows, music videos, commercials and other opportunities.

The facility would house two main revenue-generating opportunities, the Buffalo Roam Studios and Oklahoma Film Training Institute.

The education side, the Oklahoma Film Training Institute, would offer various opportunities for training in filmmaking, acting, set design, post-production and more. Those training opportunities could meet a significant need in the Oklahoma film industry.

"We lack in the state of Oklahoma the amount of crew that we have trained," Gus said. "We have a great number of people that work in the film industry, but... when you have so many [productions] happening at the same time, it starts to create a drain on the amount of crew they can bring in."

Evan Hewitt, one of the three principals in the new company, who started a film program at Oklahoma Wesleyan and currently teaches film at Oral Robert University, discussed the merits of the education side of the project.

"Education becomes extremely expensive," Hewitt said. "We would like to do is provide an alternative that's affordable and can put people into the industry."

During Monday's meeting, councilors voiced support for the project and agreed it would be a great asset, but not all agreed on how the city should fund its portion.

"I think it's a great and growing industry that will bring jobs, revenue, and sales tax — a great business plan," said City Councilor Loren Roszel. "I am not in favor of creating a general obligation bond to have taxpayers further fund economic development when they're already funding economic development through two other mechanisms like the (Bartlesville Development Authority) and the (Bartlesville Redevelopment Trust Authority)."

Vice Mayor Jim Curd mentioned the possibility of structuring it with a combination of bond and tax increment financing and said going that route could speed up the project since TIF monies are quicker than bonds.

Some of the FCC congregation and board members were present and excited about the proposal.

They said they were pleased that the project would maintain the exterior architecture of the building. A committee of former members will consider the plan and decide whether to recommend that the city move forward with the project.