With about 100 employees, 250,000 visitors a year and a roughly $5.5 million operating budget, the Baton Rouge Zoo currently has an annual economic impact of $17.67 million on the local economy, according to a new feasibility study.
But the study, prepared by Philadelphia-based Schultz & Williams, also lays out an ambitious vision for a new zoo that could attract over 375,000 visitors each year, generate over $10 million annually from its operating programs and have a $24 million economic impact.
The feasibility study was commissioned by the Friends of the Baton Rouge Zoo late last year. It was presented to the BREC Board of Commissioners, which oversees zoo operations, at its most recent meeting.
As 225 recently reported in a feature on the future of the zoo, the study was commissioned to compliment BREC’s recently completed Imagine Your Parks II 10-year strategic plan. It marks the first time the zoo has directed its own study of this scope, and comes at a time when BREC Superintendent Carolyn McKnight and zoo Director Phil Frost are looking to dramatically revamp the zoo and bring it up to date.
“It is time to move the zoo in a new direction,” McKnight tells 225.
“The Vision for the New Baton Rouge Zoo,” a component of the feasibility study, outlines that new direction. The vision is ambitious, to say the least. It calls for a more interactive zoo experience that appeals to attendees of all ages. Possible components of the new zoo include ziplines, adventure courses and a sky lift to provide a “bird’s eye view of the animals,” as well as splash pads, water rides and a carousel. New dining and shopping options are included, too.
Also envisioned is a wider offering of animal experiences at the zoo, with themed exhibits and experiences such as “Elephant Oasis,” “Giraffe Encounters,” “An Asian Escape—Tigers, Primates, Antelope & Birds,” “The South American Cloud Forest Adventure,” “Wild Louisiana—Atchafalaya Basin” and a “Walk-Through Free-Flight Aviary Experience.”
To bring this vision of a new zoo to reality, the study estimates it will cost $110 million, and suggests a public-private partnership is the most realistic way to raise the money. The zoo is striving to raise $25 million in private support to get the ball rolling.
Schultz & Williams conducted dozens of interviews with local stakeholders as part of the feasibility study. While 50% of them said securing $110 million through multiple financing sources is achievable, another 31% said maybe and 19% said it’s unlikely.
“The main concern of interviewees was about the competition for funding in light of many critical needs in Baton Rouge such as education and health care,” the study says.
Schultz & Williams recommends zoo officials next form a steering committee of about five to eight “highly visible, highly respected leaders in the community that have a history of engaging others with major community projects” to begin engaging the community and spreading the word of the plan for a new zoo. The zoo also should commission an architectural and planning firm to develop a more detailed facility concept plan.
“This feasibility study shows a willingness to support the vision for a transformation of the Baton Rouge Zoo and the visitor experience,” the study concludes. “We believe it is important to recognize that this study should be seen as the start of a conversation with the community.”
See the complete feasibility study on the Baton Rouge Zoo.
—Steve Sanoski
