Thursday, December 18, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Council OKs look at proposal for zoo at Floyd Lamb

Private group envisions world-class facility

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Las Vegas officials will consider allowing a private group to construct and operate a state-of-the-art zoo as part of a city plan to take over Floyd Lamb State Park.

Representatives of television producer Edward Sher and his wife, Mona, told the City Council on Wednesday that the couple and their partners are willing to spend up to $2 million of their own money to study the feasibility of a new Las Vegas zoo.

"Their intent is to design, build and operate a state-of-the-art zoo sensitive to the aesthetics of its surroundings, self-sustaining and profitable," said attorney George Chanos, who represents the couple.

As currently envisioned, the $100 million zoo would be funded with bonds issued by the city and guaranteed by insurance policies, as well as grants, and corporate and family sponsorships. Once in operation, the zoo's profits would be split between a private operator and the city.

"It would create a substantial amount of revenue for the city to improve Floyd Lamb State Park," Chanos said.

Las Vegas has considered for more than a year taking over Floyd Lamb State Park from the cash-strapped state of Nevada. If it does so, it would assume responsibility for 680 acres of state-owned land in the park and 1,300 adjacent acres of Bureau of Land Management land controlled by the state. But city officials are hesitant to assume the expense of maintaining and staffing additional park facilities.

Maintenance would cost Las Vegas $494,000 in the first year, according to official estimates. Capital improvements would add $450,000 over two years. Staffing it with marshals would cost $850,000.

Councilman Michael Mack said the city should examine whether a zoo could generate enough money to cover those costs. The council approved continuing talks with the Shers and the state.

The Shers have lived in Las Vegas for 10 years.

A million people tour a local chocolate factory and even more visit Hoover Dam, Chanos noted. "If people are touring in those numbers, there's no reason they wouldn't tour a state-of-the-art, world-class zoo," he said.

The zoo would recruit top professionals, Chanos said. The Shers' partners would include the owners of Canada's Bowmanville Zoo, billed as the country's oldest private zoo.