Commissioner Murman quoted in this Tampa Bay Business Journal article on MOSI:
Hillsborough commissioners talk money with MOSI
Apr 21, 2016, 7:07am EDT
Plans by the Museum of Science and Industry to relocate to downtown Tampa should give a boost to fundraising.
That should also help close a $176,000 operating deficit, Mike Schultz, MOSI board chair, told the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners on Wednesday.
County commissioners approved a report from MOSI detailing plans to relocate from its current site on Fowler Avenue near University of South Florida to downtown, likely within the planned Urban Waterfront District being developed by Strategic Property Partners, the real estate company controlled by Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik and Cascade Investment LLC.
“MOSI at a new downtown location will be sized and operated to be financially sustainable over the long term,” a feasibility study said.
The museum has operated at a deficit for several years, and Commissioner Sandy Murman asked Schultz, who is president and CEO of Florida Hospital’s West Florida region, how MOSI will reduce the shortfall and balance its budget.
There will be additional revenue at a reinvented MOSI once the museum moves, but that’s three to five years away, Schultz said.
“The big question is, between now and the time we move. We have a number of things we’re working on,” he said. “We need to continue to work on revitalizing the exhibits at MOSI and Molly [Demeulenaere, MOSI president and CEO] has a very good plan over the next 24 months to do that in a way that makes sense.”
MOSI also has redirected some of the $2 million from a gift from Florida Hospital in 2014. The gift was designed to convert the IMAX DOME Theatre to 3D digital technology.
“It doesn’t make sense to spend a lot of money on a domed projection, when were not sure we’re going to have a domed theater in the new location,” he said. “We’ve redirected some of the money to help with the financial deficits that we’re currently experiencing.”
Fundraising over the last two years has been difficult because of the financial condition of the museum, Schultz said. “I think this will stir interest in the community as to a new life and a new opportunity for MOSI.”
The feasibility study projects total estimated operating expenses of $13.6 million in a stable year of operation at a downtown site, and earned income of $11.3 million.
It also projects additional fiscal benefits for Hillsborough County and the state, including $54.4 million in economic impact in the county and $66.4 million in economic impact in the state.
