Zoo Master Plan Sets Sights on Exotic Animals, Education
By: Kim Behrens
Updated: July 10, 2012
BLOOMINGTON--Miller Park Zoo says its latest facility master plan could shatter its highest attendance record.
The plan adds about two acres of land to the zoo's current layout.
It includes upgraded exhibits, more children's education, and animals unique to Illinois.
The fifteen to twenty year expansion costs about 16 million dollars.
The zoo hopes to have the first phase which includes flamingos, completed in the next two years.
Zoo Superintendent Jay Tetzloff says the plan will encourage more people to visit the area.
"We want to raise our value to the community. We want to bring people into Bloomington," explained Tetzloff. "Restaurants, hotels, we think we can be that piece that brings people in."
The zoo says it researched other facilities like the Peoria zoo to get ideas.
It hopes to bring in more than 150,000 visitors when it completes its first phase in 2014.
The plan adds about two acres of land to the zoo's current layout.
It includes upgraded exhibits, more children's education, and animals unique to Illinois.
The fifteen to twenty year expansion costs about 16 million dollars.
The zoo hopes to have the first phase which includes flamingos, completed in the next two years.
Zoo Superintendent Jay Tetzloff says the plan will encourage more people to visit the area.
"We want to raise our value to the community. We want to bring people into Bloomington," explained Tetzloff. "Restaurants, hotels, we think we can be that piece that brings people in."
The zoo says it researched other facilities like the Peoria zoo to get ideas.
It hopes to bring in more than 150,000 visitors when it completes its first phase in 2014.
