VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — The future of the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center is on the table for the Tuesday night city council meeting, where leaders are set to vote on their partnership with the facility.
This comes more than a year after the Virginia Aquarium Foundation asked the city for $207-287 million for renovations, repairs and to potentially double the size of the aquarium . Soon after this pitch, city leaders started looking into whether or not they should turn the aquarium over to a private entity. The foundation has operated the aquarium under a partnership with the city since opening in 1986.
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On Aug. 28, as 10 On Your Side’s Brett Hall reported , aquarium foundation members and the council met to figure out how to move forward. It marks the first time aquarium foundation chair Daniel Peterson addressed the council in-person.
City leaders were concerned about the lack of details coming from the more than $200 million renovation proposal. On the other hand, aquarium leaders spoke about how the exhibits are showing their age — especially the seal, turtle and shark tanks. Our cameras captured the response from councilwoman Amelia Ross-Hammond when Peterson asked for a “seat at the table.”