CHESTERFIELD, MO – A state-of-the-art production facility for musicians and bands is under construction in Chesterfield. The facility, located just off Chesterfield Airport Road, allows musicians and bands to prepare their tour before embarking on it.
“You’re standing in the middle of Gateway Studios,” says Trey Kerr, CEO of Gateway Studios and Production Services. “It’s our main studio, Studio 80. Which is 300 by 175 feet. It’s designed to represent an NFL football stadium without end zones.”
Trey Kerr is giving us a look inside this one-of-a-kind facility that is going to be a game changer, located just across the street from Spirit of St. Louis Airport in Chesterfield.
“This space is intended for an artist to hang their entire show,” says Kerr. “Tech it, rehearse it, hang it and get it ready before it goes out on tour."
The $150 million 32-acre Gateway Studios and Production Services facility will be a campus unlike any other. The facility will include docks for large rigs, kitchens and catering facilities, as well as dressing rooms and courtyards. The facility will have smaller venues, down to theater size, for touring acts to configure their audio, video, and lighting.
“For studios 40 and 50, they’re 40 feet wide by 50 feet wide,” says Guido Batista, Director of Studio Operations. “But when you get into studios 65, 75 and 80, it’s the distance from the finished floor to the grate above them.”
What began as an idea on a cocktail napkin turned into a set of blueprints, and finally a brick-and-mortar business for this production service company.
Delayed due to the pandemic but more than halfway completed, Gateway Studios expects to open later this year.
“It’s definitely one of a kind,” says Amanda Hajduk, Operations Coordinator. “It’s going to be great for St. Louis. We are so excited to open it up. It’s going to be a great place to kick off and artists can venture out and do their tours.”
It sounds like music to many people’s ears. It is bringing jobs to the region and restoring some of St. Louis’ standing in the music business to the Gateway City.
This article originally appeared on Fox 2 Now.