San Antonio Aquarium announced

TheMightyOrca

TheMightyOrca

Well-Known Member
10+ year member
So it seems an aquarium has been announced for the city of San Antonio, opening December 2014. It's from the same developers as the Austin Aquarium and Portland Aquarium. Neither of those aquariums seem to have very good reviews, though I hope the SA one is decent. (and I might try to get a job there, ha ha) If I find more information, I'll update.

Main website:

San Antonio Aquarium - Sea to Believe

Press release:

Press Release - San Antonio Aquarium

Animals to expect. Looks to be mostly fish, reptiles, and birds. I hope the aviary will be nice, though I also hope they add some kind of mammal eventually. Personally I'm a sucker for otters, though a pinniped would be nice. The San Antonio Zoo has otters but no pinnipeds. Manatees would also make me happy, I've never seen a manatee in person.

What You Can Expect - San Antonio Aquarium

They also have a Facebook page where they post some updates.

https://www.facebook.com/sanantonioaquarium
 
I've visited the new aquariums in Portland and Boise and speaking in broad terms they are both pretty crappy little places. I'd actually prefer to see a Sea Life open in San Antonio as that chain of aquariums has more quality than what I saw in Portland and Boise.
 
A real Aquarium has not opened since the Georgia Aquarium in 2005.Just about all of the rinky dink charge you the same price as a real aquarium that have opened since then simply do not cut it.When and where do some of you zoo chatters think the next real aquarium will open.Again we are stressing REAL here.A few examples would be Shedd,Monterrey,Georgia,National,Tennessee.What do you guys think ?

Team Tapir223
 
TeamTapir223 said:
A real Aquarium has not opened since the Georgia Aquarium in 2005.Just about all of the rinky dink charge you the same price as a real aquarium that have opened since then simply do not cut it.When and where do some of you zoo chatters think the next real aquarium will open.Again we are stressing REAL here.A few examples would be Shedd,Monterrey,Georgia,National,Tennessee.What do you guys think ?

Team Tapir223
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China





(and 5 more characters so I can post this stupid thing)
 
TeamTapir223 said:
A real Aquarium has not opened since the Georgia Aquarium in 2005.Just about all of the rinky dink charge you the same price as a real aquarium that have opened since then simply do not cut it.When and where do some of you zoo chatters think the next real aquarium will open.Again we are stressing REAL here.A few examples would be Shedd,Monterrey,Georgia,National,Tennessee.What do you guys think ?

Team Tapir223
Click to expand...

I haven't heard many complaints about the Ripley's Aquarium in Toronto. It opened last year. There are also two major aquariums opening in Miami, FL and Scottsdale, AZ next year. The big Bass Pro Shop aquarium in Springfield, MO that has been under reconstruction for over a decade is suppose to open as well next year, but I have my doubts about the timing.
 
The Ripley's Aquarium in Toronto is certainly a major facility and there was an extensive review of it in the last issue of Zoo Grapevine. Loveland Living Planet Aquarium near Salt Lake City, Utah, is one that I toured on my 20 day/65 zoo summer road trip and it is a very large facility that has its flaws but nevertheless is most definitely a major aquarium. With the Miami, Scottsdale and Springfield projects time will tell how impressive they are, but as I've said many times on this site a brand-new aquarium opens in the U.S. about every 6-7 months.
 
snowleopard said:
The Ripley's Aquarium in Toronto is certainly a major facility and there was an extensive review of it in the last issue of Zoo Grapevine. Loveland Living Planet Aquarium near Salt Lake City, Utah, is one that I toured on my 20 day/65 zoo summer road trip and it is a very large facility that has its flaws but nevertheless is most definitely a major aquarium. With the Miami, Scottsdale and Springfield projects time will tell how impressive they are, but as I've said many times on this site a brand-new aquarium opens in the U.S. about every 6-7 months.
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The USA continues its seemingly non-stop construction of aquariums.:)

Opening in spring 2015 will be Sea Life Orlando and Sea Life Michigan, bringing the total number of Sea Life Aquariums in the USA to 8.
 
Looks like the aquarium is set to open in December. If I have time, I might go see it and do my first ZooChat review. :) I'm not really expecting much from it. Their websites and social media posts seem to focus more on the activities like birthday parties rather than animal stuff. But hopefully there will be at least a few creative exhibits.
 
The infamous Covino brothers have now opened 4 aquariums in the United States in the past few years: Boise, Portland, Austin and San Antonio. Quite often it is easy to ascertain the scope of an aquatic facility by its square footage and here are the numbers for the 4 facilities:

Boise = 10,000 sq. ft.
Portland = 12, 500 sq. ft.
Austin = 24,000 sq. ft.
San Antonio = 50,000 sq. ft.

It sounds as if the San Antonio location is worth a visit! Someone needs to post a review...

By comparison the average Sea Life in the U.S. (out of 8 establishments) ranges from 25,000 sq. ft. (Orlando) to 45,000 sq. ft. (Grapevine) to 70,000 sq. ft. for Minnesota (it replaced an existing facility). The first two Ripley's are very similar in layout and exact dimensions but Ripley's of Canada, the Toronto location that opened in late 2013, is 136,000 sq. ft. and substantially larger than the other two. Lastly, Loveland Living Planet Aquarium in Utah is also 136,000 sq. ft. and certainly a big-name arrival on the scene.
 
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The Covino Brothers (when one of them is not in jail) have started their own mini-chain of aquariums in the United States. However, nothing seems capable of halting the Sea Life onslaught. :)

Sea Life facilities by square footage:

1- Minnesota Sea Life: 70,000 sq. ft.

2- Grapevine, TX : 45,000 sq. ft.

3- Charlotte/Concord, NC: 36,000 sq. ft.

4- Carlsbad, CA: 36,000 sq. ft.

5- Michigan, MI 35,000 sq. ft.

6- Kansas City, MO: 28,000 sq. ft.

7- Arizona, AZ: 26,000 sq. ft.

8- Orlando, FL 25,000 sq. ft.
 
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