Memphis Zoo asks Shelby County for $1.5 million to expand free program, offset rising operating costs

Matt Thompson, president and CEO of the Memphis Zoo, told the Shelby County Budget and Finance Subcommittee on May 21 that the zoo needs additional operational funding to keep up with rising expenses and expand its free Tennessee Tuesday program.

Thompson said the zoo draws roughly 1 million visitors a year, with about 52% of paid admission coming from beyond 50 miles, and that its current operating budget is $26 million. He told the committee that roughly 95% of that operating budget is funded by the Memphis Zoological Society and about 5% is covered by a city management fee of $1.2 million that was established in 1994 and has not changed since.

Thompson asked Shelby County to consider providing $1.5 million in operational support and said the zoo has asked the City of Memphis for a parallel $1.5 million on top of the existing $1.2 million. He described the county contribution as a potential sponsorship of Tennessee Tuesday, a weekly free-admission program that currently serves about 9,000 people per year and now runs in a compressed block each week. "Tennessee Tuesday has been in place for a long time... because it's so popular ... it's been in a compressed time so we can have some paying visitors early in the day. But with this addition, it would allow us to make it all day," Thompson said.

Thompson also reviewed the zoo's recent capital history and future plans. He said $118 million in capital was invested from the late 1980s through 2016, and that the zoo opened the Zambezi River Hippo Camp in February 2016. He described a 20-year master plan with an approximate $250 million build-out to complete the campus, highlighting as near-term priorities a permanent indoor stingray exhibit, a proposed Africa exhibit Thompson estimated at $75 million to expand elephant facilities and breeding space, and a mixed rainforest/aquarium project the presentation labeled "Oceans to Forest." Thompson said those future exhibits are designed to strengthen the zoo as a statewide destination and drive economic growth; he also said the zoo's current measured economic impact is approaching $90 million annually.

Commissioner Bradford asked for details about Tennessee Tuesday's current format and what expansion would look like. Thompson said the program currently runs in a compressed window — generally 2 p.m. to 5 or 6 p.m. depending on hours — and that additional support would allow the zoo to offer Tennessee Tuesday from opening to close, potentially reintroducing March dates when the program is currently not offered. "We could look at March as well... I think a program like this would allow us to... control numbers, expand it, and bring March back as well," Thompson said.

After the presentation, Commissioner Bradford told Thompson he would try to help identify the $1.5 million in the county budget. "I'm happy to try and help find the $1,500,000 out of the county budget to get this moving forward and to help with the operation," Bradford said.

The presentation was informational; no formal county action or vote occurred at the subcommittee meeting. Thompson concluded by offering the county a sponsorship role for Tennessee Tuesday and emphasized the zoo's ability to raise capital for new exhibits while asking for additional operational support to maintain services.

The zoo's request and its master-plan proposals will need separate formal consideration and appropriation by relevant county and city bodies before any funding is committed.