Editorial: Oasis gets reprieve

Friday, July 23, 2004 | 8:51 a.m.

On Wednesday the Las Vegas City Council ended its discussions with a private group that wanted to build a 250-acre zoo on land in the northwest part of the valley that currently is a state park. The City Council has indicated that it's interested in acquiring the park from the state, a prospect that led to a zoo being proposed there. But a feasibility study ordered by the city -- and paid for by the zoo's backers -- found that a zoo would require government help. If a large zoo with a $9 admission fee drew 1.1 million visitors a year -- a very optimistic forecast in our view -- the study found that it would still need $29.3 million annually in government subsidies to stay in business. The study's findings caused the City Council to kill negotiations over a large zoo, although the government will consider working with the group if it has plans for a smaller zoo elsewhere in the city.

We have, from the beginning, opposed putting a large zoo at Floyd Lamb State Park. For starters, we didn't believe that ticket sales would generate enough revenue to pay for a large zoo's costs. And, if a zoo began to fail financially, we were worried the city would feel obliged to bail it out. Further, we didn't want to forever change the tranquil character of this historic and scenic park, which has natural springs and a pond where people can fish. That is why, lastly, we wish the city would give up eyeing the 2,000-acre state park and leave it in its relatively natural setting -- something rare in Las Vegas that should be cherished, not changed.