MUMBAI:With the opening of a state-of-the-art film and television studio, said to be the largest facility in the United States outside Hollywood, Chicago has been touted as a new ‘world class film destination’.

Joined by Emmy Award-winning actor Kelsey Grammer and the producers of the new Chicago-inspired TV series "Boss,"

Illinois governor Pat Quinn announced that the state was investing five million US dollars into the new privately-owned Cinespace Chicago Film Studios. "We want to make sure that Chicago, Illinois, is a place where when you come to make a TV show or a movie, you get a great studio space," Quinn has reportedly said.

The new Chicago studio will eventually be expanded to 1.2 million square feet (111, 000 square meters) of space that can accommodate three to six productions at the same time, potentially creating thousands of film industry jobs, according to Betsy Steinberg, director of the Illinois Film Office (IFO).

Quinn also announced a record 161 million dollar in spending on film and television projects for 2010 in Illinois that would create around 8,000 jobs. "That‘s what this is all about, real jobs for hardworking men and women who know how to do tough, challenging things on deadline," Quinn added.

The five million dollars that Illinois was investing to construct Cinespace, comes from the Illinois Jobs Now! capital programme which is only a small percentage of the 80 million dollars in private investment by Toronto-based studio owner Nick Mirkopoulos.