THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, July 25, 1994 TAG: 9407230009
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Short : 47 lines
Nauticus - Norfolk's $52 million National Maritime Center - looks to be off to a good start. Officials report that 3,500 paying sightseers pass daily through the distinctive tourist attraction on the downtown waterfront. That's up from 2,500 a day in June. Nauticus counts 165,000 visitors since opening in early June.
Nauticus is part theme park, part science museum, part history museum. Its appeal is primarily, but not exclusively, to parents and children - a substantial market. It aspires to entice 700,000 patrons annually. Norfolk hopes Nauticus will join Colonial Williamsburg, Busch Gardens and the Virginia Marine Science Museum in Virginia Beach as popular attractions that draw families in the hundreds of thousands.
Nauticus' popularity over time cannot be foreseen. Despite much publicity and spectacular opening ceremonies, Nauticus is still little known beyond Hampton Roads. Virtual Adventure - a virtual-reality ``voyage'' that takes visitors into the depths of Loch Ness - has technical problems and is one feature that has not opened yet.
Nauticus expects to open only on weekends during a portion of the year and close during the low-projected-attendance months of January and February to prepare for each new season.
Norfolk taxpayers have good reason to hope that Nauticus will succeed and that it will play its role in hosting conventioneers and other fun seekers. Millions of dollars in municipal and state funds have underwritten a substantial portion of Nauticus, and the not-for-profit National Maritime Center Authority, formed in 1988, is committed to paying off $33 million in project bonds using operating revenue and donations.
The arrangement is supposed to shield Norfolk taxpayers from direct liability if Nauticus flops, but the embarrassment to the city would be considerable - and perhaps burdensome - if that happened. In general, cities should be wary of running ventures such as theme parks or attractions. (AutoWorld in Flint, Mich., flopped spectacularly in the 1980s.) Private investors risking their own money fail frequently enough.
For now, however, Nauticus appears to be off to a good start. We hope it holds over the long haul. by CNB