Merlin Entertainments is planning to build a $15 million Sea Life aquarium at Phoenix’s Arizona Mills Mall. If approved by the City of Tempe, it will become the second Sea Life Aquarium in the United States, joining Sea Life Carlsbad, California, which opened in August 2008 adjacent to Legoland California.
“We believe Sea Life will be a wonderful addition here at Arizona Mills, and welcome the Merlin Entertainments family to ours,” says Mills president Gregg Goodman.
“A Sea Life aquarium is no mere collection of fish tanks,” adds Merin’s managing director of ‘midway’ attractions, Glenn Earlam. “It’s a highly themed environment that transports visitors beneath the seas, educates them and provides close encounters with a vast array of creatures.”
The Phoenix aquarium will be a 26,000 sq ft development with 12 different zones housing over 5,000 creatures, ranging from shoreline marine life such as starfish and crabs to larger species such as sharks and rays. Opening is planned for 2010.
