Onondaga County has plans to reel in visitors when its new aquarium opens in 2026 and lure filmmakers to take advantage of New York’s state and local tax incentives.
Visit Syracuse is pitching it as an opportunity to transform the aquarium into a film set for multiple styles of storylines.
"Whatever that script may call for, you’re going to see this aquarium... from a bigger perspective,” said VP of entertainment Eric Vinal. "We’ll have the green screens, LED walls and spaces that technology can be brought in to expand that world a little bit.”
The idea of a film aquarium is convenient for local movie studio American High.
“There’s lots of opportunity once you have a location to just think outside of the box and say, ‘ok, what can we do here with an aquarium?’" said American High owner Jeremy Garelick, who expanded “We can have a TV show set with [a theme of] like working at an aquarium, combination live action and animation.”
Both Vinal and Garelick say once the aquarium opens, New York’s film industry will make Onondaga County a magnet for worldwide film companies scouting locations for any water related productions. Click here for more details about the local film and post production directory in Syracuse and the county.
