ASHEBORO, N.C. -- Officials at the North Carolina Zoo say a plan to expand parking is in the works.
In the 2016-2017 fiscal year, the zoo welcomed more than 860,000 guests and that number is growing. The zoo even set a record on Easter weekend in 2017, having 15,250 guests visit in one day. With the addition of Asia and Australia exhibits on the way, staff is expecting an even higher volume of visitors in the future.
The North Carolina Zoo Council met this week to talk about expanding the parking lot to reflect the increase in guests.
"Providing more parking, right by the entrances, is a goal we've had for a number of years now," explains NC Zoo Engineer Gerry Parker, who heads planning and construction.
Parker explains they want to add about 2,300 more spaces, bringing their total to around 5,000 spaces. The goal is to get these spaces in before the Asia exhibit is set to open in 2023.
He adds, they do have space to add more parking on the zoo's 2200-acre property. All plans will have to be approved by the state and that's where Parker is hoping to get the money to fund the whole project. He estimates it could cost upward of $3 million. He says it's not clear at this point if the project will impact ticket prices.
What they do know is the number of visitors at the zoo keeps going up. They're expecting about 1 million annual visitors by 2020.