Audubon lost money in ’08

• By MICHELLE MILLHOLLON
• Advocate Capitol News Bureau
• Published: Oct 25, 2009 - Page: 1A

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The nonprofit organization that Mayor-President Kip Holden wants to manage the proposed $225 million Alive riverfront attraction lost money last year, according to financial records.

The Audubon Nature Institute reported a $187,886 loss after expenses exceeded revenue at its Aquarium of the Americas, IMAX Theatre and other attractions in New Orleans, states a financial summary posted on the institute’s Web site.

Holden says he wants Audubon to operate Alive, an entertainment and education venue that would include an aquarium, outdoor amphitheater and scientific research facilities.

Alive is part of a $901 million capital improvements bond issue that goes before voters on Nov. 14. Bonds sold to finance the project would be guaranteed by revenue from tax increases.

Alive would be built between the Mississippi River and River Road near Hollywood Casino.

Holden said last week at the Baton Rouge Press Club that he is confident that Alive will draw enough visitors to cover operating expenses.

Asked for more specifics on the plans to  generate operating revenue, the mayor’s spokesman, Scott Dyer, on Friday quoted Holden’s chief administrative officer, Mike Futrell, as saying “Alive will use the same model that Audubon uses in New Orleans at the zoo and the aquarium.”

Dyer quoted Futrell as outlining a revenue plan that includes visitor memberships, private parties, admissions, gift shop sales, concessions, ticket sales, naming rights and corporate sponsorships as well as a foundation to seek donations and philanthropic gifts.
He pointed to Audubon as another source of information on the attraction’s operating plan.

Ron Forman, president and chief executive of Audubon Nature Institute, did not answer four requests for an interview made on Thursday and Friday.

However, the Audubon Institute’s spokeswoman, Sarah Burnette, said the institute has not developed a revenue generation plan for Alive.

“We don’t have a contract,” she said.

The Audubon Nature Institute operates the facilities for the Audubon Commission, a public agency, according to filings with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. The institute manages the zoo, aquarium, parks and an insectarium.

For 2008, a Deloitte and Touche audit of the Audubon Commission for the Legislative Auditor’s Office showed a more than $18 million operating loss.