THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, October 2, 1995 TAG: 9509300004
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Another View
SOURCE: By DAN BALLARD
LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines
No doubt the second-guessers and I-told-you-sos will rise in ecstatic unison over the news that Nauticus must now be ``bailed out'' by the taxpayer. The chorus will repeat the phrase, ``Look what that money could'a bought,'' while a variety of soloists will soulfully intone ``more schools, playgrounds, lower taxes and police.''
It's gonna' sound real good. I guarantee that those who opposed Nauticus will be dancing in the aisles at City Council, while those who supported it will be real quiet and reflective, searching for the right words.
I would like to suggest the song we should all be singing: Tourism is the largest nongovernmental economic generator in this area. It accounts for more money, jobs and income to our cities than any other private enterprise, including shipbuilding and repair, health care, manufacturing and, in fact, all those combined.
Norfolk did not have a major tourist attraction. Virginia Beach has a beach, Williamsburg has Colonial history and Norfolk had, what?
The logic of Nauticus is indisputable. So the attendance projections and the pledge that it would be self-supporting were too ambitious. That does not make Nauticus a mistake.
As in the case of so many large undertakings like world's fairs or sites for Olympic events, many decisions, such as cost or attendance, are inaccurate. But they are made boldly by those who realize that not trying to build facilities that create public excitement and use is a greater failure than not being ``right'' about every prediction.
Nauticus is a true landmark in our cities' development as a player in the region's tourism future. That attendance has not yet reached projected levels does not mean that it won't in the future. And even if it never does, that alone would not make it a failure. It will become an integral part of this marvelous tourist-destination area and will pay for itself many times over.
The taxpayers of Norfolk, and those in neighboring cities, should sing praises to Nauticus, the Virginia Marine Science Museum, Portsmouth's Children's Museum, the Mariners' Museum and the Hampton Air and Space Museum. These taxpayer attractions are not expenses. There is abundant research that proves they are income-producing investments even though the income is not directly apparent in attendance figures.
I doubt that this song will make the Top 40, but if we get enough people hummin' the tune. . . . MEMO: Mr. Ballard, a retired advertising executive, lives in Norfolk.
ILLUSTRATION: Mort Fryman
Staff
Nauticus, on the downtown Norfolk waterfront
by CNB