Zoological Society Proposes Increase : Zoo, Wild Animal Park Ticket Prices May Rise

Chatting to a cheetah will cost you more at the San Diego Zoo and at the Wild Animal Park if a proposal to increase the admission prices to the two attractions is accepted by their board of directors next week.

Doug Myers, executive director of the Zoological Society of San Diego, said Friday he has proposed the increase because of skyrocketing utility bills and employee insurance premiums for the two parks. Myers declined to say what the proposed price is but said it would be a “slight” increase and would apply only to individual adult tickets.

Myers said he would ask the society’s board of directors Tuesday to approve the price increase when it considers the $50-million budget proposed for 1986. The proposed budget is about $5 million more than the current budget. Any ticket price increase would begin Jan. 1, he said.

Insurance premiums for the approximately 1,000 employees at both sites will increase 136% next year, from $259,000 to $614,000, zoo spokesman Jeff Jouett said. The employees are covered for medical, dental, disability, eye care and life insurance claims, he said.

In addition, the attractions expect that their utility bills will increase $310,000 next year, Jouett said. Figures for current utility costs were not available for a comparison, he said.

The proposed 1986 budget also calls for a 4% pay raise for workers who are members of Teamsters Local 481, which makes up 75% of the work force at the attractions, Jouett said.

Currently, admission to the zoo is $5.95 for adults and $2.50 for children ages 3 through 15. The Wild Animal Park charges $6.95 for adults and $3.95 for children ages 3 through 15.

The proposed price increases for the two attractions will only be for adult tickets, Myers said. “The zoo is dedicated to the children of San Diego,” he said. “The increase will affect adult prices only.”

Also not affected by the proposal are the $40 membership fees paid by those who have yearlong passes to the zoo or to the Wild Animal Park. The Zoological Society increased the membership fees from $33 to $40 in April, 1984.

Myers said he expects no public outcry over his proposed ticket price increases.

“I think we will still be the best deal in town,” Myers said. “The price is not going to be that much higher. I don’t think it will affect anybody; most people in San Diego are members.”

Katherine Horseman, president of Ocelots, the zoo auxiliary group, said an increase appears to be unavoidable.

“I’m not happy with any fee increase anywhere,” she said. “But I recognize that this increase is something that cannot be avoided or it would have been avoided.”

Attendance at the zoo between Jan. 1 and Nov. 30 was 2,950,469, an increase of 5% over the same period last year, Jouett said. The Wild Animal Park suffered a 9.6% decrease from last year, however, with attendance counted at 1,069,860 between Jan. 1 and Nov. 30.

Myers said visitors to the zoo next year can expect new attractions and better food. Included in the improvements will be a $1-million “kopje” exhibit that will reproduce an African island of rocks. In addition, the zoo is completing its $4-million renovation of Cascade Canyon, which is expected to open early next year, Myers said. As for the food, the Zoological Society also hopes to improve the selection of food offered to patrons, Myers added. No new restaurants will be introduced, but the menus for restaurants will be changed.

“We’re going to have fun with the food,” he said. “We will get away from the ordinary hot dogs and hamburgers.”