l-r: Council Member McCracken, Creative Industries Development Manager Jim Butler, and former Mayor Watson Credit: Photo By Mary Sledd

City officials gathered in the House Park end zone Tuesday to fete the decision by NBC to film 12 episodes of Friday Night Lights in Austin beginning in August. Each episode is expected to have a $1.5 million budget, for an overall fiscal impact of more than $20 million locally. It’s about “cultivating a creative economy,” said former Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, who is currently vying for a state Senate seat. “Football plays a role in our lives, and the film industry plays a big part in our economy,” he said. The big-screen Friday Night Lights was set in Odessa, while the series is set in fictional Dillon, Texas. “If it doesn’t rain soon, we’ll have no trouble portraying West Texas,” Council Member Brewster McCracken said.

This article appears in June 16 • 2006.

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