Aquarium's Director Wades Into Changes
TREASURE ISLAND (Orlando Business News) -- The new executive director of the Florida Aquarium told staff members during their first meeting that he arrived late because he needed to talk with engineers about where to put the first loop of the roller coaster. "Nobody laughed," Thom Stork said. "They kind of just sat there." Stork, who spent 27 years as a marketing executive for Busch Entertainment Corp. at Busch Gardens in Tampa and at SeaWorld in Orlando, vows to make the aquarium more fun and, therefore, more attractive. He kidded about putting in a roller coaster, but he was not kidding about letting visitors swim with sharks, beginning in October, and he also plans to let children swim in the coral reef exhibit. The Florida Aquarium opened in 1995 and entered dire financial straits within 18 months. The City of Tampa bought the aquarium, and it brought in enough money to cover expenses, as long as the city chipped in $700,000 a year. During Jeff Swanagan's tenure, the facility's debt fell from $800,000 to about $200,000. The subsidy from the city enabled the aquarium to finish its most recent fiscal year ending Sept. 30 with a $3,000 surplus in operating revenue. The aquarium drew 619,200 visitors during the last fiscal year, a 7% increase compared with the same period a year earlier. Now the aquarium represents the cornerstone for changes in Channelside. The area offers new retail space, the Ice Palace, cruise lines, the StarShip dining yacht and, starting in October, a trolley that runs between downtown Tampa and the Ybor City historic district. Stork, a member of the state's Tourism Commission, said that statewide, business during spring break and Easter was strong. The state's brand recognition is also strong, but people must get past the fear of another terrorist attack and the fear of the stock market before tourism will really recover. As for the aquarium, his staff is already thinking more like marketers, essential to the aquarium's success, he said. Increasing attendance and revenue are Stork's goals, and if that means swimming in a tank of sharks, he's game. But not literally. "Someone asked if I'd be the first to swim with the sharks," he said. "I said, `No.'"
TREASURE ISLAND (Orlando Business News) -- The new executive director of the Florida Aquarium told staff members during their first meeting that he arrived late because he needed to talk with engineers about where to put the first loop of the roller coaster. "Nobody laughed," Thom Stork said. "They kind of just sat there." Stork, who spent 27 years as a marketing executive for Busch Entertainment Corp. at Busch Gardens in Tampa and at SeaWorld in Orlando, vows to make the aquarium more fun and, therefore, more attractive. He kidded about putting in a roller coaster, but he was not kidding about letting visitors swim with sharks, beginning in October, and he also plans to let children swim in the coral reef exhibit. The Florida Aquarium opened in 1995 and entered dire financial straits within 18 months. The City of Tampa bought the aquarium, and it brought in enough money to cover expenses, as long as the city chipped in $700,000 a year. During Jeff Swanagan's tenure, the facility's debt fell from $800,000 to about $200,000. The subsidy from the city enabled the aquarium to finish its most recent fiscal year ending Sept. 30 with a $3,000 surplus in operating revenue. The aquarium drew 619,200 visitors during the last fiscal year, a 7% increase compared with the same period a year earlier. Now the aquarium represents the cornerstone for changes in Channelside. The area offers new retail space, the Ice Palace, cruise lines, the StarShip dining yacht and, starting in October, a trolley that runs between downtown Tampa and the Ybor City historic district. Stork, a member of the state's Tourism Commission, said that statewide, business during spring break and Easter was strong. The state's brand recognition is also strong, but people must get past the fear of another terrorist attack and the fear of the stock market before tourism will really recover. As for the aquarium, his staff is already thinking more like marketers, essential to the aquarium's success, he said. Increasing attendance and revenue are Stork's goals, and if that means swimming in a tank of sharks, he's game. But not literally. "Someone asked if I'd be the first to swim with the sharks," he said. "I said, `No.'"
