(Does the aquarium carry insurance on Winter?)
Clearwater places $750,000 bet on Winter the dolphin
Updated: Friday, 22 Oct 2010, 6:40 PM EDT
Published : Friday, 22 Oct 2010, 6:40 PM EDT
Chris Chmura
FOX 13 News reporter
CLEARWATER - A whopping $750,000 in tax dollars will help improve the home of Winter, the dolphin who sports a prosthetic tail.
The money is being funneled to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, which rescued the Atlantic bottlenose and has since gained worldwide notoriety.
"Winter is just a draw," said Clearwater Mayor Frank Hibbard.
Hibbard said the funding will be used to help prepare for an expected influx of visitors following the 2011 debut of a movie about Winter. Fans will flock to Clearwater to see the film's star: Winter.
"This isn't like Flipper or Lassie. You could never go see either of those TV characters," Hibbard said. "We believe the aquarium can be that sort of attraction for many years to come."
Hibbard said it is impossible to estimate how many tourists Winter could attract. However, he is confident the taxpayer money is a wise investment.
"It means better things for our number-one industry," he said.
"They're going to take us to another level," said Frank Dame, the aquarium executive vice president.
Dame said attendance at the aquarium -- a former city wastewater treatment facility -- has tripled since Winter's arrival.
"We have been so successful in the past three years, that we have outgrown our capacity to accommodate guests here," he said. "We had to do something."
Dame said the aquarium considers the city -- and its taxpayers -- a partner.
"We going to be paying them back with bed tax, and sales tax, and a lot of visitors to this area."
Filming for the Winter movie is underway.
0 comments:
Post a Comment