Huntington Beach : Feasibility Study of Marine Center Ordered

The City Council has agreed to spend almost $20,000 for an economic feasibility study in hopes of attracting the Cousteau Society to open a marine entertainment and education center overlooking the ocean.

Over the past several months, the city has been meeting with Cousteau Society officials to discuss the possibility of establishing Huntington Beach as one of the locations for a Cousteau Ocean Center. There are now two centers--one in Paris and the other in Norfolk, Va.-- with about eight more scheduled to be built around the world.

The center, estimated to cost as much as $20 million, would occupy a 75,000- to 100,000-square-foot building on the ocean side of Pacific Coast Highway south of the city pier. Typically, these centers include a theater, meeting rooms and food concessions.

The study, to be done by the Lyon Group, will analyze potential revenue and attendance and is expected to be completed by the end of February, 1986. In addition to Huntington Beach, the Cousteau Society has approached San Diego about a site there and the County of Orange for the Dana Point Marine site.

In other business Monday, the council voted to ban the sale of alcoholic beverages at gas station mini-marts in an effort to stem drunk driving. The ordinance, which takes effect in 30 days, does not apply to the four Huntington Beach gasoline station convenience markets that now sell beer and wine.