THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 21, 1994 TAG: 9407210505
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A01 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TONY WHARTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Long : 101 lines
About 165,000 paying customers have passed through the turnstiles of Nauticus since it opened June 1, officials said Wednesday.
It's not clear, though, whether the $52 million tourist attraction will be able to hit its annual attendance target of about 700,000 in this short, first year.
Nauticus Director Michael Bartlett also announced that the facility will be opened only on weekends and by special arrangement for school groups for much of the fall and winter.
``I just don't know yet,'' Bartlett said of chances the attraction would reach its break-even target. ``I think on an annual basis, yes, it will. In a short year, I'm not sure. We didn't open until June. It depends on what happens here in August. I think we're going to have a good season this fall, too.''
Bartlett reported midsummer attendance figures to the City Council Tuesday.
He also told them that Nauticus will reopen during the week briefly around Christmas and then return to a full schedule again in the spring.
City Council members said they were satisfied with Bartlett's report, although some raised questions.
``I think what we're hearing is mostly good feedback,'' Mayor Paul D. Fraim said, ``and that's good enough for us.''
Councilman Randy Wright said he was ``concerned about it being closed on weekdays during the fall and early spring months.''
``I asked Bartlett to take another look at that decision,'' Wright said.
None of this means Norfolk taxpayers will have to start digging in their pockets to bail out the attraction.
Here are some other indicators of how Nauticus is faring:
Attendance rose, Bartlett said, from a daily average of 2,500 in June to 3,500 in July.
``My assessment is that we're growing steadily,'' he said. ``We're probably not growing as quickly as I would like. But our product has been well-received.''
Although attendance revenue won't be used, the National Maritime Center's backers expect to make next month's semiannual $1 million debt payment to the city. It would come from money that was raised from private sources and set aside to give the attraction a cushion until it starts paying for itself.
One of Nauticus' drawing points, the virtual reality ``ride'' called Virtual Adventures, has been plagued with delays and won't open until Aug. 1.
``Certainly the biggest single problem we have is Virtual Adventures not being open,'' Bartlett said recently. ``We've advertised it, and now we can't deliver. People have every right to be irritated with us.''
Virtual Adventures is a six-person ride that immerses the passengers in an interactive, computer-generated adventure in Loch Ness. It will cost $2.50, on top of the usual Nauticus ticket price of $10. (Several promotions have begun recently that lower the ticket price to as little as $6.)
However, this is one of the first installations of Virtual Adventures in the world, and its California creators, Iwerks, have been sorting out bugs in the computer software all summer, which has postponed the opening several times.
``That's the risk you run when you get the newest of something,'' Bartlett said.
Some downtown businesses report their sales have increased since Nauticus opened.
One of the owners of The Toy-smiths, a new toy shop two blocks from the tourist attraction, said he regularly makes sales to tourists.
``With the traffic going to Nauticus, it's been fabulous,'' said Marshall Smith, co-owner of the store. ``They'll make a beeline straight to Nauticus and when they come back they pop in my store.''
He attributed the increased business to a combination of Nauticus, the Waterside Convention Center, Waterside itself, and Harbor Park.
That is the theory city officials long advanced, that all of the attractions contribute to a ``critical mass'' that will make downtown succeed.
Dan Marone, general manager of the 400-room Norfolk Waterside Marriott, said a joint promotion between the hotel and Nauticus has filled about 30-40 rooms every weekend this summer.
``The way we look at Nauticus, in broader terms, is that our overall tourism and leisure business is up tremendously this year,'' he said. ``Nauticus isn't all of it, but it's certainly part of it.
``It's not unusual now for us to have 200-250 rooms filled just for tourism. People are staying in downtown Norfolk for tourism.''
Phil Haushalter, owner of Phil's Grill in Virginia Beach, said he plans to open a new restaurant in the 100 block of Granby Street this fall.
``I think Norfolk is going to be a hot, happening spot,'' Haushalter said. ``It's really probably still two years out, but we wanted to be in on the ground floor.'' ILLUSTRATION: HIGHLIGHTS
ATTENDANCE: 165,000 paying customers visited Nauticus since June 1.
Attendance rose from a daily average of 2,500 in June to 3,500 in
July.
SCHEDULE: The facility will be open only on weekends and by special
arrangement for school groups for much of the fall and winter.
KEYWORDS: NAUTICUS NATIONAL MARITIME CENTER
by CNB