Vikings TV studio building visitor centre as part of growth plans
by Alice Davis | 27 Feb 2017
Ashford Studios, makers of Vikings, is located 40 minutes from Dublin, Ireland
The makers of the popular TV series Vikings will open up a visitor attraction as part of plans to expand its film and TV studio facility in County Wicklow, Ireland.
Ashford Studios is investing €90m (US$95m, £77m) in the expansion to allow the business to take on more projects. It would then boast four 40,000sq ft (3,716sq m) film studios and a TV studio, increasing the total size to 716,000 sq ft (66,518 sq m).
Ashford Studios owner Joe O’Connell is funding the work, after already spending €25m on the existing studios. The entrepreneur believes there is a demand for more TV and film studios to meet the growing workload from production companies like Netflix and Amazon.
“There is a risk involved, but I'm more confident about this than I was with the first phase. We've got to remain competitive, but the success of Vikings – which will film its fifth season here this summer – proves we can do that,” O’Connell told Ireland’s Independent newspaper. “Studios want purpose-built, state-of-the-art spaces, and this is what we're trying to give them. If this second phase is successful, we have space to add nine more studios here.”
Vikings is a historical drama written for the History channel and filmed in Ireland. It is in its fifth series, having debuted in 2013.
vikings ashford studios ireland county wicklow ireland history channel
The makers of the popular TV series Vikings will open up a visitor attraction as part of plans to expand its film and TV studio facility in County Wicklow, Ireland. Ashford Studios is investing €90m (US$95m, £77m) in the expansion to allow the business to take on more projects. It would then boast four 40,000sq ft (3,716sq m) film studios and a TV studio, increasing the total size to 716,000
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