Columnist Jeff German: Let’s hope exhibit’s successes will be contagious

Friday, Aug. 1, 2003 | 5:23 a.m.

IT WASN'T ONE of the biggest bashes Mandalay Bay has ever thrown, but it nevertheless was significant.

Last Wednesday the megaresort held a small reception outside the entrance to Shark Reef to celebrate the popular aquarium's accreditation by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA), the country's most respected overseer of zoological facilities.

To the surprise of many, Jane Ballentine, AZA's public relations manager, told the gathering that Shark Reef was the first and only such facility in Nevada to receive accreditation. Our neighbors in California have 23 accredited institutions, most notably the San Diego Zoo and SeaWorld.

After the initial shock of Ballentine's words wore off, I realized that the news she offered shouldn't really come as a surprise.

We have a history of providing funds for education, public safety and social services to barely, if that, keep up with growth. We never think about spending what it takes to improve our quality of life in these areas, much less build top-notch zoos and cultural art centers for everyone to enjoy.

We have all of this wealth on the Strip, but very few companies willing to spend their money to benefit the community that made them rich. We don't even push hard to make them contribute more to improve our lifestyle. Gaming, our biggest industry, still is taxed here at the lowest rate in the country. And banks and other big corporations like Wal-Mart? Well, we let them take most of their profits out of the state and contribute even less to our tax base.

Shark Reef is a wonderful exhibit and obviously an educational asset to the city. Clark County Schools Superintendent Carlos Garcia eloquently pointed that out at the reception, when he hailed the facility for providing countless free tours to students.

Shark Reef Director Brian Robison and his staff, who worked so hard to achieve accreditation, also deserve all the praise in the world. It took them four years to reach this goal. Their application alone was nearly 1,000 pages.

But Mandalay Bay didn't just build this facility out of the kindness of its heart. It is a money-maker and an attraction that brings business to the megaresort. More than a million tourists and residents visit the exhibit each year.

With all of the casino money in town, we should have more accredited exhibits like Shark Reef.

Las Vegas has a small privately run zoo that is built on three acres of land on the northwest side of town. The zoo works hard at being a resource for the community, but it simply doesn't have the funds to put itself anywhere near the stature of the great zoological parks of this country. Imagine what it could do, however, if the casino industry threw its financial support behind it.

We deserve a world-class zoo, and we should have botanical gardens and tons of parks. We also should have a vibrant downtown that offers a variety of cultural experiences -- not just a cheesy pedestrian mall that caters to casinos.

Our idea of a museum should be more than just a junkyard full of rusty old neon signs, or a proposal to convert an old post office into a house of mob memorabilia.

If nothing else, Shark Reef has demonstrated that, if we set our minds to it, we can show the country that Las Vegas is more than just a mindless city of sin.

So we should let Mandalay Bay bask in its accomplishment at Shark Reef -- but not for too long.

Come back to us in a couple of years with an even better educational attraction, and we'll sing your praises again. Get your competitors on the Strip and downtown to do the same.

If the people who benefit the most from doing business in Las Vegas start contributing more to the community, we'll really have something to celebrate.