Baton Rouge Zoo pinpoints locations for possible future sites

It’s been clear for a while that BREC’s Baton Rouge Zoo wants out. The problems facing this more than 45-year-old park in north Baton Rouge—aging facilities, discontinued exhibits, poor visibility along a major highway and a surrounding community it says doesn’t frequent the zoo—are reasons why its leadership is itching to relocate.

After months of studies, a final report released in March shows two possible options on the southern edges of the parish, where, according to data, the largest number of zoo visitors resides.

The report claims a price tag of $110 million regardless if the existing zoo location is refurbished or a brand new park at a different location is built. The problem with the existing site is a longer timeline to improve infrastructure, more dependence on public dollars while working to generate a profit and that it would be “significantly more challenging to raise funds” from private donors for the north Baton Rouge site.

A new location would offer the potential to try out some new amenities as well, such as zip lines, ropes courses and a waterpark.

As the zoo’s Director Phil Frost told 225 before the study began, “We can’t continue the way we’ve done in the past, with just a little piece here, a little piece there. … We’re going to have to do some of these things in a very big way.” brzoo.org