LOCKED IN: Goose lighting director Andrew Goedde behind the desk at Gateway Studios
& Production Services, a rehearsal space that recently opened in Chesterfield, Missouri.
Photo by Juliana Bernstein

Production pros looking for a turnkey rehearsal space suitable for stadium-size touring needs, including staging, lighting, sound and tech, have a new option with Gateway Studios & Production Services in Chesterfield, Missouri.

After four years of construction, the 300,000 square-foot rehearsal and production studio complex in the greater St. Louis area is open and booking tour rehearsals, television and film production as well as corporate events.

Every aspect of the 32-acre complex was built with the needs of touring professionals in mind.

Next-gen jam band Goose christened Studio 75 in May. The Connecticut band used Studio 75 to prepare for its 2025 “Everything Must Go Summer Tour,” which kicked off May 27-28 in San Francisco at the Masonic and hits MSG June 28 before wrapping June 29 with a homecoming show at Westville Music Bowl in New Haven. The collaboration with GSPS included enhanced lighting rigs and state-of-the-art video equipment (provided by GSPS), and on-campus pre-visualization suites, allowing the team to tech the show before moving into full-band rehearsals.

“The best part about working at the studios this time is we got to prep at Gateway, use the pre-vis suites and build the rig right down the road – all without breaking our workflow,” said Andrew Goedde, lighting director for Goose. “It made us so much more efficient with our time. We’ve never had that kind of setup before.”

Studio 75, designed for various-sized productions, offers 15,000 square feet of rehearsal space, a 75-foot grid height and a million-pound grid weight capacity. Amenities include a 4,000-square-foot receiving/staging area, three loading docks, a drive-in ramp and 8,000 square feet of dedicated dressing rooms with ensuite private bathrooms, offices and a catering lounge.

“The space is well thought out from the ground up to accommodate even the largest tours,” said Eric Loomis, Goose FOH audio engineer. “They really considered everything a touring camp needs for a smooth and productive rehearsal experience.”

That level of planning extended to the acoustic environment as well. “The room had two layers of treatment that I noticed immediately,” continued Loomis. “It was clear that time and planning went into making the acoustics right – and it paid off.”

Goedde appreciated the time saved by eliminating the need to ship gear from a prep site to a remote rehearsal facility as well as the ability to fly the rig to its full show trim height.

“It’s so important for the band to see what it’s actually supposed to look like on day one,” added Goedde. “You can show renders, but if the rig isn’t fully up, they can’t really feel it. That first walk-through was the real ‘wow’ moment.”

In addition to Studio 75, GSPS has officially opened Studio 80 on the 32-acre campus. The 52,500-square-foot space boasts an 80-foot grid height and a 2 million-pound grid weight capacity. It includes a 10,800-square-foot receiving/staging area, six loading docks, shore power for six buses, a drive-in ramp and 15,000 square feet of dressing rooms, offices and catering space.

The Studio Support space is also now operational, offering 15,700 square feet of open space with a 48-foot ceiling and rigging points at 42 feet. Additional features include a 3,400-square-foot receiving/staging area, one dedicated loading dock with leveler and truck power, a drive-in ramp, two private offices with restrooms and secure storage.

“We’ve had the privilege of working with Goose for years and having them rehearse in Studio 75 is a significant milestone for us,” said Trey Kerr, CEO of GSPS. “Our longstanding relationship has allowed us to truly understand their needs, and it’s been rewarding to support their vision with the full capabilities of our space – from pre-visualization to rehearsal to production.”

Phase two of the Gateway Studios campus is scheduled for completion this fall. The next phase includes Studio 65 with 12,500 square feet of rehearsal space, a 65-foot grid height and an 800,000-pound grid capacity, as well as a new office building that will serve as GSPS headquarters and include leasing opportunities for industry partners.

This article originally appeared on Pollstar.