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JANET ZINKNew exhibits and lost business from the hurricanes have strained the budget, officials say.
TAMPA - The cost of seeing lions, tigers and bears at Lowry Park Zoo is going up.
The adult admission price will increase from $11.50 to $14.95, senior tickets will rise from $10.50 to $13.95, and children's admission will go from $7.95 to $10.50. The new rates will take effect as soon as possible.
"A price increase is not something any of us want to do," said City Council member Shawn Harrison. "The low admission fee is one of the attractions of the zoo."
The City Council voted unanimously Thursday in favor of the increase after Lex Salisbury, the zoo's president and chief executive officer, said new zoo exhibits and lost business from the hurricanes prompted officials to take a look at ticket prices.
At the end of July, the zoo was $75,000 ahead of budget projections, Salisbury said. But after four hurricane threats, the zoo ended up with a $400,000 shortfall at the close of the fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30.
The hurricanes, though, were not the deciding factor in raising the prices, said Heather Sitton, a spokeswoman for the zoo. Officials had been considering a rate hike even before the storms to cover the costs of the new Safari Africa exhibit and programs including on-site preschool and kindergarten classes and an at-risk teen program.
Next year, the zoo will open a skyride and expand the Africa exhibit with white rhinos and mongoose-like meerkats, Sitton said.
Even with the rate increase, admission to the zoo remains lower than the cost of other local attractions, she said. The Museum of Science and Industry charges $15.95 per adult, the Florida Aquarium $17.95 and Busch Gardens $53.95.
"Our goal is to remain affordable," Sitton said.