The Inspiration Networks Chooses Lancaster County For City of Light Headquarters

93 Million Campus To Create More Than 500 Jobs

CHARLOTTE, Jan. 31 – The Inspiration Networks Chairman and CEO David Cerullo today announced a ten-year, $98 million plan to build the City of Light, an extensive new campus encompassing a new state-of-the-art media production and broadcast facility; a world mission center and corporate headquarters on 93 acres in Lancaster County, South Carolina.

“The name ‘City of Light’ is driven by our passion to use television and the media to shine the life-transforming Light of the Gospel throughout the world, but is necessitated by the constraints of our current facilities,” Cerullo said. “We are simply out of space and must expand our capacity to efficiently and economically meet the demands of the vision God has given us.”

The Inspiration Networks maintains four distinct television network outreaches, covering more than 77 million households in 38 countries. Operations are now located in seven separate buildings throughout the “Queen City” region, with production taking place in two separate buildings. The City of Light will consolidate all broadcast and ministry activities at one location.

The organization currently employs 320 people, most of whom are located in the greater-Charlotte area. It is projected this project will add another 100 staff before the 2007 opening of the new campus, which is designed to accommodate up to 1,500 employees.

“Fifteen years ago, we had the opportunity to locate our ministry anywhere in the country, but we chose Charlotte because we love this city and the Carolinas,” Cerullo said. “While the City of Light will be located in nearby Lancaster County, we will continue to base much of our activity in Charlotte, including our wholly-owned Media-Comm teleproduction facility. Many of our staff live in Charlotte, which we expect will continue after we officially move to our new headquarters in South Carolina.”

“Since our ministry was founded in 1990, we have pursued a vision of utilizing television and the media worldwide to make a positive difference in people’s values, beliefs, behavior, and their relationship to God,” Cerullo continued. “That vision has encompassed creating relevant, entertaining, informative and redemptive programming designed to reach children, teens and families with the Gospel.”

“This new facility will enable us to take a significant step forward to fulfill that vision as a strategic location for creation and distribution of culturally relevant, region-specific evangelistic television programming,” Cerullo continued. “We also plan to help raise up a new generation of Christian leaders who will use the media and emerging technologies to maximize the ability to impact lives for Christ worldwide.”

According to Cerullo, the building project is the culmination of more than five years of research and planning. “We explored available land options throughout greater Charlotte, as well as several other potential cities across the country. After considering a number of different alternatives -- including costs and associated benefits of each -- we felt the clear and best choice was the developing corridor along Highway 521 in Lancaster County. It was one of the few properties where we could assemble enough land to accommodate both our present needs and our future growth opportunities.”

“We have been thrilled by the warm welcome we have received from the governments of South Carolina and Lancaster County,” Cerullo said. “We sensed that they grasped what this new campus means for their state and county. More than just jobs, our move to this new facility will bring heightened visibility to the region. We will be beaming programs throughout the world from our new South Carolina home, and bringing thousands of people every week to our headquarters.”

South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford said creating a favorable business climate that draws more company headquarters to the state remains a priority for his administration. "Companies like Inspiration Networks relocating here due to business growth is an important part of our larger effort to create jobs and opportunity for people in our state," Sanford said.

Bob Faith, South Carolina secretary of commerce, said the new Inspiration Networks facility will add to the diverse mix of industries in the region. “The Inspiration Networks has a lot to offer us in terms of job creation and economic growth,” Faith said. “We’re very glad that the company recognized how much South Carolina had to offer it as it moves forward.”

When completed, the City of Light will include a Visitor and Welcome Center, a World Prayer Center (and prayer gardens), a WorldReach Center (with administrative offices for the organization), an International Satellite Master Control and Distribution facility, an International Media Production facility, and an International Media and Ministry Training Center.

Facilities are also being planned to accommodate the organization’s other specialized ministry outreaches. These include a Tea House for its women’s ministry (developed in conjunction with its Everyday Woman’s ministry, a Youth Evangelism Center (developed in conjunction with Inspiration’s “Steelroots” ministry), and a Children’s Evangelism Center (developed in conjunction with the network’s “Discovery Jones” children’s ministry). There also will be a state-of-the-art entertainment pavilion for concerts and events.

The official groundbreaking for the new campus is scheduled for November 2006.

The Inspiration Networks includes cable TV networks INSP-The Inspiration Network, La Familia Cosmovision (LFC), Inspirational Life Television (i-Lifetv), and INI—Inspiration Network International (INI). INSP is carried on more than 2,500 U.S. cable systems serving 22 million households. i-Lifetv is a digital inspirational lifestyles network launched in June 1998 that currently serves over 8.5 million subscribers. La Familia Cosmovision is a digital network that features family-friendly programming for Hispanic families. INI is delivered direct to home, serving 50 million households in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Approximately 50 percent of INI’s schedule is original and exclusive programming with programs for children, teens and the international family. INI also features a blend of U.S. and European ministry programmers.

For more information about the City of Light, visit the INSP web site at INSP.com.