Pima County is looking for a new operator to run Old Tucson Studios. That’s because the current one, Colorado-based American Heritage Railways, says it will not extend its current lease, which runs through April 2027.
The facility is more than 300 acres — some of which is developed, some of which is not; several hundred productions have been filmed there over the decades.
To talk about the park’s future, The Show spoke with Diane Frisch, director of Attractions and Tourism for Pima County. And they started with some of the options for what the county might do come next spring, when the current lease ends.
Full conversation
DIANE FRISCH: Well, that’s the thing. We’re hearing some interesting pitches from people. Everybody loves Old Tucson. It’s located in Tucson Mountain Park. There are some things that would be appropriate for that property. We’d love to retain the Western history of Old Tucson. Since 1939, it’s been a filming site. We love that history and the filming opportunities.
But there are also some opportunities to do some Sonoran Desert education, to build on how we might put together a new partner for Pima County. So it may be one leaseholder, it might be a collection of leaseholders. We’re really just taking this time to think about it in a new way and what’s best for the property and what’s best for the residents and the tourists that come to Tucson to see it.
At one time, Old Tucson was the number two attraction in the state of Arizona, right behind the Grand Canyon.
MARK BRODIE: Is there still filming that goes on there?
DIANE FRISCH: There is. There is filming that goes on there, and a lot of people think it’s just Westerns. But the site also has that beautiful Sonoran Desert background to it that is so fantastic. So we have documentaries, we have student films, we have portions of major films done. It’s a variety of things. And we also shoot some catalogs out there. We shoot some photographs. People don’t understand or realize that, oh, there are a lot of things that that desert and those views are used for.
MARK BRODIE: Is it possible that it could just become a county asset, that you wouldn’t have some other enterprise that is a leaseholder here?
DIANE FRISCH: We do own it. We own the property and the buildings. I think we always look at it as we like to have a partner and make it accessible to people. As selfishly we might say it’s ours and we’re going to just keep it for ourselves, if there are ways we can use it that will bring people to Tucson or southern Arizona, if there are ways to use it for conservation and education for people, we certainly want to do that.
So we’re getting some interesting proposals and ideas. We haven’t even opened it up. These are just people that are saying, "Oh my god, I love Old Tucson. I have an idea." And I’m talking to all of them.
MARK BRODIE: Are you hearing ideas of things that maybe you hadn’t thought about before?
DIANE FRISCH: Oh, yes. I’m hearing a lot of ideas. And there are some ideas simply because of where it’s located that wouldn’t be appropriate. Someone said that’s an ideal location for a water park. I said, "Hmm, OK, no." A water park would not be appropriate in that location, and the amount of water you would need, so we probably wouldn’t do that.
I’ve heard proposals for entertainment, for a hotel or a casino. It’s in the middle of Tucson Mountain Park. Again, there are some things we want it to mesh with what’s in the area. So we won’t be building a 16-story hotel. I don’t think a water park would work. We appreciate and love that Dark Skies is also there, so there might be an opportunity for astronomy. Tucson is the city of gastronomy, the first in the nation. That could be an opportunity. We’re hearing some very interesting things.
MARK BRODIE: What is the financial component to this? Like if you’re going to build something, some kind of observatory or restaurant or something like that, do you need to have an outside company come in to do that so the county is not on the hook for all that?
DIANE FRISCH: We don’t need to, but I think we’re looking at it as good partners are probably the best way to go. And some people may have experience in an area. I’d love to think that the county and Attractions and Tourism knows everything. I’ve found that if you have some good partners, that may be the way to go.
Our end goal is really to make sure that we make the best decision for the property and people keep coming and using it. So we’ll have to talk about financially what that would look like and how people would go about that. But we certainly are listening right now. We’re in a listening phase.
MARK BRODIE: Have you heard any ideas that you’re thinking, "That’s a really good idea, we should do that"?
DIANE FRISCH: I have.
MARK BRODIE: Can you share what some of those are?
DIANE FRISCH: No, I can’t. Thanks so much for asking.
MARK BRODIE: Fair enough. You know I had to ask. I kind of figured that was going to be the answer. I kind of had to ask.
DIANE FRISCH: You had to ask. No, there are some interesting things where we’ve said, "Huh, that could work. Let’s think about that." And there are other ideas where people have come to us with partnerships where we’ve said, "OK, that’s interesting. Let me think about that."
And then we’ll look at it in terms of, is it appropriate for the property, what statutes or jurisdictional things do we have to think about, and then ultimately, we'll take, the staff will take ideas to the Board of Supervisors in Pima County and they’ll give us input and direction and say, "Yes, that’s something we think we want to move," and then we would move into a vetting phase.
MARK BRODIE: What to you is the importance of Old Tucson Studios to Tucson and southern Arizona?
DIANE FRISCH: Oh, there’s so many things. The importance to the community, I mean the calls and the social media and the outpouring of people. We love Old Tucson. It’s been here since 1939. They were destroyed when there was the fire in 1995. It’s part of our culture, it’s part of our history. And moving forward, we’d love to be able to keep those things, plus add in educational elements.
And everyone will bring to me pictures of them with their mom and dad and their grandma and grandpa at Old Tucson. They just can’t imagine it not being here. So I think there’s a way we can come up with a plan and a partner or partners that we would respect all of that and continue on.
MARK BRODIE: All right, that is Diane Frisch, director of Attractions and Tourism for Pima County. Diane, thanks so much, I appreciate it.
DIANE FRISCH: You bet. Thank you, Mark.
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