The bureau hopes to have a decision by year end. Wilmington is150 miles southeast of Downtown Charlotte.

A major attraction in this coastal city of 50,000 residents isthe EUE Screen Gems Studios, arguably the largest facility of itskind east of Los Angeles. Filmmaking activities account for almost15% of the area's total economic structure. The studio has ninesound stages totaling 115,000 sf of stage space and offers athree-block, four-story urban studio backlot fashioned after NewYork City streetscapes. Additional stages and production officesare available at the nearby Wilmington Film Studios.

Despite the extreme weather in the area last year, travelersspent about $295 million in New Hanover County, a 14.5% increasefrom 1998, according to the Travel Industry Association of America.The new eight-story Holiday Inn SunSpree resort at nearbyWrightsville Beach opened this year with 185 guest rooms, 8,500 sfof meeting and convention space, five pools, oceanfrontrestaurants, a health and fitness center, an indoor market, andactivity centers for guests and children. The Wilmington Hiltonrecently added 100 rooms and increased its meeting space by nearly20,000 sf.