THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, October 4, 1994 TAG: 9410040395
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEPHANIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
Nauticus, the fledgling maritime attraction in downtown Norfolk, lost $3.2 million in the first seven months of the year - a figure that will have to be drastically cut if the facility is to meet projections that showed a loss of only about $911,000 in the first year.
The months of August and September are likely to be critical in boosting Nauticus' revenues, and officials hope to close the $2.3 million gap by the year's end.
``Frankly, it's awfully early to tell where we'll end up in the year,'' said Haig H. Pakradooni, the center's director of finance and administration. ``It's not as good as we had hoped. But we're holding our own.''
Most of the loss was projected. There were costs such as wages even before the National Maritime Center debuted June 1, and a heavy debt payment on $33 million in city-backed bonds was due last February.
What wasn't expected, however, was a slump in attendance on rainy June afternoons, Pakradooni said.
``We didn't get the numbers of people we wanted,'' he said. ``We had hoped to make it up faster.''
The August unveiling of Virtual Adventures, the game in which you climb into a simulated submarine to rescue the Loch Ness monster's eggs, was a boost, Nauticus officials said. And the Labor Day weekend brought in about 1,700 people.
By mid-September, Nauticus had had about 347,000 visitors, most of them out-of-towners. Director Michael Bartlett isn't sure whether the attraction will be able to meet its eventual attendance goal of 700,000 visitors a year.
It's also not clear whether Nauticus will be able to bring in by year's end its total projected revenue of $8.6 million for 1994. In June and July, a good chunk of the tourist season, the attraction brought in 22 percent of that goal.
Nauticus officials are now trying to lure more locals by offering discounts. On the horizon may be package deals with other regional tourist attractions like Colonial Williamsburg or Busch Gardens.
City officials say it's too early to predict Nauticus' future.
``This is their first year of operation, and not even a full year,'' Mayor Paul D. Fraim said. ``I just think it's much too early in the process to be making judgment calls.''
Even if the $52 million attraction doesn't meet its goals, it will continue to have spinoff effects. The city, for example, will collect hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes from the attraction each year. Restaurants, hotels and other businesses also expect to benefit from the increased tourist traffic.
``In the big picture, I think you'd have to say that Nauticus is a plus,'' Fraim said. ``The bottom line is that Nauticus is going to take care of itself, more than take care of itself.'' MEMO: RED INK
Lower than expected attendance has hurt Nauticus' revenue: 347,000
people had visited the attraction through mid-September. 700,000 is the
attendance goal for the year.
KEYWORDS: NAUTICUS ECONOMIC IMPACT by CNB