AQUARIUM PROPOSED AS TOURIST ATTRACTION FOR VENTURA.Byline: Lisa Mascaro Daily News Staff Writer The lush aquatic life under Ventura Harbor provides just the place for those hoping to survey the wonders of the sea - and a potentially lucrative opportunity for local officials hoping to capture a new tourist market. Preliminary plans are under way to develop an aquarium aquarium, name for any supervised exhibit of aquatic animals and plants. Aquariums are known to have been constructed in ancient Rome, Egypt, and Asia. Goldfish have been bred in China for several hundred years and are still the most commonly kept fish in home at the popular harbor, which features retail shops, a yacht club, and serves as a gateway to the Channel Islands National Park Channel Islands National Park: see Santa Barbara Islands; National Parks and Monuments (table). . While the proposed aquarium could draw nearly 500,000 visitors annually to the park center area it would share, developers say it would be a far cry from the large-scale aquariums in other cities. ``What we're proposing for the property down there is not a mega-aquarium - not a Monterey Bay, not a Long Beach,'' said John Cahill John Cahill (born 27 April, 1940) is an Australian rules football player and coach. During his illustrious career he played football for the Port Adelaide Football Club and then coached Port Adelaide, West Adelaide and Collingwood. of the Santa Barbara Channel The Santa Barbara Channel is that part of the Pacific Ocean which separates the mainland of California from the northern Channel Islands. It is generally south of the city of Santa Barbara, and west of the city of Ventura. Foundation, which has brought the proposal to the city's port district. ``Our foundation's goal is to increase (regional) interest. . . . It's really not being designed as an attraction.'' The foundation brought the proposal to the city port district in November, a month after the group failed to reach agreement with Santa Barbara Santa Barbara (săn'tə bär`brə, –bərə), city (1990 pop. 85,571), seat of Santa Barbara co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1850. officials to build an aquarium there, Cahill said. The initial plan is a scaled-down version of the Santa Barbara proposal, calling for a 34,000-square-foot aquarium on 2 acres of port district-owned land along Spinnaker Drive. The venue would share space with an expanded National Park Service Visitors Center and could eventually include a 3,000- to 4,000-square-foot theater. In all, Cahill expects the project to cost up to $20 million, which would be financed through private bonds to be repaid by profits from the aquarium. Cahill said the entry fee would be about the price of a movie ticket. The port district has given the idea a warm reception, with the board agreeing this week to move forward on plans to draft a memorandum of understanding A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is a legal document describing a bilateral or multilateral agreement between parties. It expresses a convergence of will between the parties, indicating an intended common line of action and may not imply a legal commitment. with the foundation. Supporters of the port and city say the aquarium could lure lure the skin-covered object which runs on a monorail on a Greyhound racing track and which the dogs are schooled to chase. The lure must be kept 30 to 40 ft ahead of the leading dog so that the field is stretched out. additional tourists to the city situated between Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. and the popular tourist destination A tourist destination is a city, town or other area the economy of which is dependent to a significant extent on the revenues accruing from tourism. It may contain one or more tourist attractions or visitor attractions and possibly some "tourist traps". of Santa Barbara. ``Any time you bring in all those people, there's a benefit,'' said Ed Wohlenberg, general manager of the port district. Though the aquarium would fall shy of the 157,000-square-foot aquarium in Long Beach that has drawn 1 million visitors since its June opening, Ventura officials see it as another attraction for their city. The city brings in about $116 million annually in tourist revenue, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. 1997 reports, and tourism provides some 1,800 jobs in the city. The Santa Barbara Conference and Visitors Bureau estimates a large part of its 6 million annual visitors is the so-called ``drive market'' from cities to the north and south. And Ventura officials often bill their city as an accessible and more affordable destination. ``I think what this aquarium presents is an opportunity to showcase,'' said Kathy Jenga-Dykes, executive director of the Ventura Visitors Center, who had not yet reviewed the aquarium proposal but is interested in the idea. ``(It) will add another attraction to our area.'' The project is expected to be discussed at the port's board meeting in February. Cahill, who has been working to bring an aquarium to the region for more than five years, said he is hopeful it could become an educational resource for area residents. ``The waters are so valuable here,'' said the Westlake Village resident. ``It goes back to when you were a kid in the early '50s and saw `20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.' There's something magical.'' |
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