THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 18, 1994 TAG: 9408180533
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TONY WHARTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Short : 34 lines
Tired of the rain? Over at Nauticus, they're pleased as can be - daily attendance rose in the past month, apparently in part because people were looking for things to do indoors.
``We've been slammin' since it started raining,'' said Nauticus spokesman Jim Myers. ``We had our second strongest day of the year Monday. We're on an upward trend.''
Almost 5,000 people visited the maritime center on Norfolk's waterfront Monday, Myers said, and 3,800 bought tickets Tuesday.
As of Tuesday night, Nauticus had drawn 271,354 visitors since it opened June 1, an average of just over 3,500 a day. Daily attendance started around 2,500 in June.
After several delays, Nauticus opened its virtual reality ride, Virtual Adventures, two weeks ago, and officials believe that also has drawn more visitors.
However, the tourist season is nearly over. Nauticus is open seven days a week only through Labor Day; then it will be open on weekends only. It will reopen during the week for the Christmas school holidays, close completely in January and February and begin a new season next spring.
Nauticus' annual attendance goal is about 700,000, but director Michael Bartlett has said he's not sure it will reach that in the first year. by CNB