Production Park’s vision has always been to create a hub for the entertainment sector. From building state-of-the-art rehearsal facilities to developing the Academy of Live Technology (ALT, formerly Backstage Academy) and welcoming more companies to the campus, the site has expanded steadily year on year. As we approach the end of 2026, the team at Production Park is pleased to be starting work on the next phase of expansion. With the working title of OTR (Over the Road), the business has begun developing some recently acquired land which is set to expand the site by 292,000sq ft. Dressed in high-vis jackets and hard hats, we walked the grounds of this new phase, which is set to open in early 2027 and will become the heart of the campus, serving as the physical representation of Production Park’s overall mission: to bring people together.
CEO Lee Brooks spoke about how this latest development fits into Production Park’s overall goals. “When you look at touring productions, you have all these different departments putting their pieces together in a common typography, and each one of them pushing the boundaries of what is possible,” he began. “For these examples, you need regular meetings, which is why they need to cluster and bring different sectors around the table.”
He believes the best results come when creatives can collaborate in the same physical space, which is why, for over a decade, Production Park has sought to be a destination where collaborations lead to creation. This idea of creating neutral spaces is a common trend we’ve seen across the industry over the past decade. From Rock Lititz opening in 2014 to its new Nashville facility [p78] and the new Production Village in Germany, demand for these facilities is clear. “The formula of getting people together to figure out a project is really strong, and I think it’s this collaboration that will help the industry develop new technologies,” Brooks said.
Production Park already has several companies on campus, including TAIT, 4Wall Entertainment, CoSTAR Live Lab, Fuse Technology, Phantom Production Design, Precision Devices and ROE Visual – and OTR is set to increase this number substantially. “We’ve already had quite a few detailed conversations with companies looking to move in, with many of those chats starting before we had plans for the new space,” stated Jim Farmery, Production Park’s Director of External Affairs, excitedly. “We want a diverse campus with Production Park being a neutral space where you have multiple organisations of different disciplines all connected within a single ecosystem.”
The OTR facility will also feature a central meeting spot that the team is currently nicknaming The Boulevard. This space will offer somewhere to meet, work, eat and share ideas. It will also give the industry a place to showcase its work. Digital displays will feature everything from new production technology and equipment to the shows developed and rehearsed on campus, while a demo space will host product demonstrations, launches and industry events.
OTR will also feature a brand-new, purpose-built performance venue on site. Although currently unnamed, the venue has been on the cards for Production Park for a long time. “If you go to any other drama school or higher-end education facility, there is always a venue or theatre,” stated Brooks, referring to the one element ALT still lacks compared with other establishments. The venue will not only be a place for ALT students to learn valuable skills in a production space, but also a flexible, technically advanced space designed to support everything from intimate gigs and pre-tour performances to film screenings, live broadcasts and industry events.
With plans to incorporate volumetric capture technology, it will offer new ways to record, produce and share live performances with audiences around the world. Although the team has yet to reveal specific technical specifications, Brooks said the goal is to be at the “cutting edge” and “future focussed”. With a capacity of 1,000 standing, it will be a substantial space and the centrepiece of the new expansion.
This story originally appeared in TPi Magazine #296.
Words: Stew Hume
