Suddenly, visitors and revenue are way up at Colossal Cave

Colossal Cave Mountain Park’s new management has reported a quadrupling of revenues and an increase in visitors to the county-owned tourist attraction.

In the first three months of 2015, when the park was under the management of the nonprofit Escabrosa Inc., the facility brought in a little more than $124,000 in revenues. That figure shot up to more than $530,000 over the same period this year under the management of for-profit and Santa Fe-based Ortega National Parks, according to Pima County data. Attendance rose from 9,277 to 17,641 between the 2015 and 2016 quarters.

Ortega, which operates in a number of parks across the country and will operate as Colossal Cave Park LLC locally, was granted the contract in August 2015.

Tom Moulton, Pima County attractions and tourism director, credited the improved performance to outreach efforts and park renovations undertaken by the new lessee, as well as a new policy waiving entrance fees for visitors. Cave tour fees remain and have risen to $16 for adults from $13 under previous management, according to Brian Held, Ortega’s general manager at the park.

“It’s always good when you see the results coming in that are so positive,” Moulton said.

The new arrangement also promises to bring some money into the county. Moulton said the previous arrangement with Escabrosa did not bring in rent or other income to Pima County, adding: “Quite frankly, we weren’t receiving revenue from Colossal Cave” under its previous management.

However, the contract with Ortega includes a minimum $20,000 yearly rent, and potentially more as revenues increase. Once the company clears $2 million in annual revenue, it will also pay 2 percent of that, a figure that increases by two percentage points for every $1 million in additional revenue up to $6 million, at which point the county would get 10 percent.

“Anything that we can do to bring revenue to the county is a great thing,” Held, the manager, said.

Since taking over the park, Ortega has spent around $500,000 on renovations, improvements and outreach at the park, including a “full-scale” shop, a café, a new sluice machine for children to learn about geology, a revamped website and around $130,000 in advertising. On tap are a possible zip line, expansion and improvement of the trail system, and renovations to the old ranch house, Held said.

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“It’s kind of a complete overhaul,” he added.

The new contract is for 10 years, with two extensions of 15 and 25 years, and Ortega is required to spend at least $60,000 annually on maintenance and repairs, excluding labor costs, according to the terms of the contract.

The county will also continue to bear some costs at the park. Held said that if a building has “structural issues” that present safety concerns, the county would help pay for that, along with road repairs and other infrastructure improvements. Moulton said maintaining the sewer and water systems are also the county’s responsibility.

“We are committed to help them, to assist them,” Moulton added.

Though he cautioned that annual costs can vary, Moulton’s department spent around $58,000 at the park in fiscal year 2015, and more than $22,000 was approved for the following year, according to draft budget documents. For the coming fiscal year, $25,000 has been requested, as well as another $5,000 for the county’s natural resources, parks and recreation department.

The county had sought $3.4 million in last year’s bond election for improvements at the park over the next 10 years, which was voted down along with a number of other proposals.

In the wake of the bond election, the county and Ortega have come up with a list of priority projects, including new bathrooms, road repairs and improvements at the ranch house, for which they will try to find alternative funding. That money could come from both the county and Ortega.

As an example, Moulton said the county is paying $20,000 for a historical and archaeological study of the park, with Ortega chipping in another $10,000.

“The whole theme of this operation is private-public partnership,” Moulton said. “The county is going to put money back into the infrastructure.”