Is San Antonio on the verge of becoming 'Aquarium City'? - San Antonio Express-News

Posted: 20 May 2021 09:09 AM PDT

Just how many fish are people willing to pay to see in one city? A test of sorts is underway in San Antonio.

The Sea Life San Antonio aquarium will open at the Shops at Rivercenter downtown on Tuesday. It'll join SeaWorld San Antonio, one of the world's largest marine life theme parks, and the San Antonio Aquarium on the list of fish attractions. And let's not forget the aquatic exhibits at the San Antonio Zoo.

No one has proposed calling San Antonio "Aquarium City," but the city known for the Alamo and the River Walk will soon have one of the largest concentrations of aquarium attractions in North America.

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Moon jellies light up, dazzling Matteo Azzopardi, 4, held by grandmother Dina Hughes at the zoo aquarium.
Lisa Krantz /Staff photographer

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Avery Solari, 3, from left, Jackson Greenway, 6, Judah Solari, 5, and Levi Solari, 7, visit Timothy The Hippo and his grandmother, Uma, in the Africa Live! exhibit at the San Antonio Zoo on May 13, 2021.
Lisa Krantz, Staff / Staff photographer

"People love aquariums," said Samantha Muka, an assistant professor at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J. "It's like a jewelry store or candy store. They like looking at these things."

And unlike at zoos, the operators of the fish attractions don't have to worry about rain or hot weather keeping visitors away, said Muka, who is writing a book on the technology of aquariums.

"The aquarium has something that zoos do not, which is that the weather doesn't matter," she said.

On ExpressNews.com: SeaWorld, Six Flags narrow first-quarter losses as attendance increases after pandemic shutdowns

Most major cities around the world have marine life attractions, usually an aquarium. In fact, an aquarium building boom has been underway the past several years, with new fish attractions going up in Shreveport, La., Gulfport, Miss., and St. Louis, among other cities.

But four such attractions makes San Antonio unique.

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Dennis Speigel, who advises operators of theme parks and tourist attractions, said he doubts visitors will come to San Antonio for its aquatic attractions. But they're a nice add-on for tourists.

Sea Life San Antonio's location near the Alamo is no coincidence.

"The aquarium is in the mall and it's an impulse attraction when you have time to kill," he said. "It's not a lengthy stay."

Sea Life, the first downtown aquarium, isn't large; it will add 3,000 fish to San Antonio's sea-creature census. Its owner, U.K.-based Merlin Entertainments, bills it as an attraction that visitors can see in 90 minutes or less.

Indeed, none of San Antonio's sea-life attractions are considered "mega-aquariums." But that possibility isn't out of the question.

Tim Morrow, president and CEO of the San Antonio Zoo, said he's interested in building the city's first major aquarium as part of a long-term plan to add more attractions at the zoo.

A Fly River turtle, also known as a pig-nosed turtle, swims in the Richard Friedrich Aquarium at the San Antonio Zoo. Tim Morrow, zoo president and CEO, says he's interested in building the city's first major aquarium.
Photos by Lisa Krantz / Staff photographer

Sharks at the mall

An enormous sculpture of the pirate Blackbeard in the Ocean Tunnel exhibit at Sea Life San Antonio. The new aquarium opens Tuesday at the Shops at Rivercenter, the latest entertainment attraction to the long-running shopping mall.
Kin Man Hui /Staff photographer

On ExpressNews.com:Looking to recover, SeaWorld San Antonio staying open through winter

Sea Life claims to have something unique — San Antonio's "Only Underground Ocean Tunnel."

Attraction officials say the 50-foot-long tunnel is surrounded by a 360-degree view of ocean creatures, including sharks and sea turtles, swimming all around visitors.

"Sea Life brings an all-new experience into the market that provides an intimate, highly themed, hands-on experience for our guests," Jeremy Aguillen, the attraction's general manager said.

Merlin Entertainments is promoting the 33,000-square-foot aquarium in combination with its other attraction in the downtown mall, the Legoland Discovery Center. Aguillen .said the average family spends two to three hours at the Lego attraction.

Merlin Entertainment will cross-sell discounted tickets to visitors to Sea Life and Legoland.

Eighteen miles west of downtown, SeaWorld San Antonio may not have an ocean tunnel, but it's upping its game.

In June, SeaWorld plans to begin renovating its 450,000-gallon Explorer's Reef aquarium; new floors and lighting will be included. It will also add large schools of new fish that will swim with the resident 3,800 sharks, seahorses, clownfish, coral reef fish and dart frogs.

SeaWorld San Antonio President Byron Surrett said his park's aquariums, rides and shows can't be compared to the Sea Life aquarium, which he called "a quick walk-through."

Surrett also said SeaWorld's sister parks in Orlando, Fla., and San Diego, Calif., feature underwater shark and fish tunnels but building one in San Antonio would be costly and difficult. Explorer's Reef is an older facility, dating back to the park's opening in 1988.

SeaWorld Entertainment, the San Antonio park's parent company, recorded a net loss of $356 million in the 15-month period ending March 31 as COVID-19 wrecked havoc on attendance at the company's theme parks.

Preschoolers from the Will Smith Zoo School look at Boom, the Nile Crocodile, in the Africa Live! exhibit during their daily trip to the San Antonio Zoo on May 13, 2021.
Lisa Krantz, Staff / Staff photographer

Tunnel vision

The San Antonio area has been promised an aquatic tunnel since 2014.

The free-standing, 50,000-square-foot San Antonio Aquarium opened that year in a former car dealership in Leon Valley. A press release put out by aquarium officials at the time said they would build a 125,000-gallon tank and underground tunnel where visitors could watch sharks and tropical fish by March 2015.

The operator never built the tunnel. Today, the facility contains 8,000 fish but features no giant marine-viewing windows. It offers visitors a hodgepodge of experiences, including a video game arcade, a kiddie bounce room and the opportunity to pet lemurs.

Outside its gift shop, representatives try to sell visitors timeshares in Cancun, Mexico, and Orlando, Fla.

Aquarium spokesman Paul Mefford said in a statement the facility has no plans to build the tunnel but did not offer an explanation.

"Our business model is very different from that of Sea Life and through our innovative experiences that we provide to our guests we will remain competitive," he said.

The aquarium received unwanted international attention in July 2018 after a man snatched a 16-inch horn shark out of its tank, wrapped it in a blanket and pushed it out of the aquarium in a baby stroller.

The incident was caught by aquarium security cameras and broadcast on TV new programs. The man was arrested after police found the shark in his home aquarium.

Muka said Sea Life could take away business from the San Antonio Aquarium, especially when cross-sold with the Lego attraction.

"Mothers with young children love Legoland," she said.

Muka said visitors and locals also will want to see the Sea Life aquatic tunnel — something they expect in newer aquariums.

Morrow said he's looking to work with Sea Life to promote one another's attractions. But he also has a grand aquarium plan that would make the zoo the aquarium king of San Antonio.

It calls for centralizing the zoo aquarium exhibits — one is in a building that dates back to the 1940s — and create a world-class aquarium. Currently, the zoo's main aquarium building doesn't have wall-to-ceiling glass windows.

Even without any additions, the zoo still houses more than 9,000 fish.

Morrow said kids go to the zoo to see big species, including elephants and tigers, but they also like sharks.

Matteo Azzopardi, 4, strains to see fish between his mother, Jessica Azzopardi, left, and his grandmother, Dina Hughes, right, in the Richard Friedrich Aquarium at the San Antonio Zoo on May 13, 2021.
Lisa Krantz, Staff / Staff photographer

"We are a big enough city to have a major aquarium," he said, adding he would start construction tomorrow "if someone would write me a $200 million check."

Sharks are the most popular aquarium draw. Muka said they are usually up to 7 feet long at major aquariums.

As for other fish, she said, people don't know the names of particular species nor do they care.

"There's very few times when people will say, 'I want to go to the aquarium to see that animal,'" she said. "Mostly it seems to just be the immersive experience. It's very calming to people."

Dave Krupinski, interim president and CEO of Visit San Antonio, plans to promote the Sea Life aquarium in upcoming marketing campaigns. He said he isn't concerned about the abundance of aquatic attractions in the city.

"Marine life is always a point of interest for any leisure attraction, as it adds entertainment value for a potential traveler," he said. "Strengthening these offerings, especially in downtown San Antonio in these trying times, will always add value."

Speigel estimated Merlin spent $20 million building Sea Life and said it should be successful.

Merlin Entertainment operates more than 50 Sea Life aquariums around the world and doesn't commit to a project without extensive market research on the viability of a location.

Ultimately, the Sea Life aquarium will give visitors another reason to tour San Antonio, said Davis Phillips, who runs Ripley's Haunted Adventure, the Guinness World Records museum and other downtown attractions.

Phillips said it's all about offering more family fun after the Alamo, the River Walk, and SeaWorld and the Six Flags Fiesta theme parks.

"People are looking for something new to do," he said. "The new aquarium is a good thing for San Antonio."

randy.diamond@express-news.net

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