ATLANTA (March 23, 2016) | Sen. Brandon Beach (R – Alpharetta) led the Georgia Senate in honoring the Georgia Aquarium on its 10-year anniversary in Atlanta. As a major economic driver in the heart of Atlanta’s largest tourist district, the aquarium attracts more than 2 million visitors annually. Sixty percent of those visitors come from outside of the state.
“The Aquarium is a powerful economic force for Metro Atlanta and our state,” said Sen. Beach. “It is a great influence on the City of Atlanta and the downtown area around Centennial Olympic Park. On behalf of the Georgia Senate, I would like to congratulate them on their 10 year anniversary as an invaluable resource for Georgia.”
“Georgia Aquarium has brought the ocean to the city of Atlanta and provided a huge economic impact to the rejuvenation of downtown Atlanta,” said Georgia Aquarium chairman and CEO, Mike Leven. “This would not have been possible without the generous gift from Bernie and Billi Marcus, and we celebrate that and all the things we’ve achieved as we commemorate our tenth anniversary. We’re also excited to premiere our new California sea lion exhibit and presentation, SunTrust Pier 225 on March 31st and inspire guests about this amazing species.”
The Georgia Aquarium is the largest aquarium in the western hemisphere. It is home to more several thousand species of marine life that utilize 10 million gallons of marine and salt water. After 27 months of construction on land donated by the Coca-Cola Company, the aquarium opened in November of 2005 and was the world’s largest at that time. The aquarium supports 2,046 permanent jobs across Georgia in 2015 and has a projected 2016 direct payroll of more than $30 million.
# # # #
For Immediate Release:
March 23, 2016
For Information Contact:
Jennifer Yarber, Director
Brett Johnson, Broadcast Specialist
Brett.Johnson@senate.ga.gov
404.656.0028