By Mark Hansel
NKyTribune Managing Editor
An early-morning storm of near-Biblical proportions threatened to derail the Answers in Genesis Ark Raising Thursday.
Shortly before the 11 a.m. start of the event, however, the skies cleared and the first tour of the mammoth structure currently under construction in Grant County went off without a hitch.
Answers in Genesis founder Ken Ham admitted to some concerns as lightning flashed and a deluge threatened to wash out the long-awaited event.
“That was really something,” Ham said. “To be honest, I was praying and asking the Lord to allow the storm not to affect this. The rain came through right before and went away and we were able to get it done.”
When the project was announced in December 2010, it was envisioned as an attraction with multiple exhibits that was expected to be finished in 2014.
Developers later said the project would be built in phases and the timeline would be determined by financing and market conditions.
There have been plenty of naysayers who have questioned if the Ark Encounter would ever be completed and late last year it was dealt a significant blow.
The project received preliminary approval for tax incentives from the Kentucky Tourism Development Finance Authority that would allow it to keep 25 percent of sales tax it collected for10 years.
In December, however, The Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet said AIG’s hiring policies did not meet state requirements for the up to $18 million in tax breaks.
The park’s mission, the agency said, had become more a ministry than a tourist attraction and its hiring practices discriminated on the basis of religion.
Ham said Thursday that while the project had changed from a partnership to an Answers in Genesis development, hiring practices had not yet been determined.
Answers in Genesis has filed suit asking that the tax breaks be allowed and oral arguments are expected to be heard July 1. Ham said he doesn’t expect a decision in the near future and anticipates the side that does not prevail will appeal the initial decision.
Thursday’s event left little doubt that the Ark Encounter will be completed, with or without incentives, and Ham said the projected opening date is sometime in the summer of 2016. It’s the first time Answers in Genesis has linked the completion date to a time frame.
Ham said about half of the $80 million needed to complete the Ark and infrastructure improvements has already been raised.
Kentucky Sen. Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, whose district includes the Ark Encounter site, said any county in the state would welcome the project and he hopes it receives the incentives. Thayer said he spoke to Gov. Steve Beshear personally and asked him to reconsider the decision to deny the tax credits.
“I’m disappointed that the Beshear administration has rescinded on its commitment to provide tourism tax credits on this project,” Thayer said. “I do think it’s a strong statement that the Answers in Genesis group is proceeding ahead with this, not knowing if they are ultimately going to get the tax credits.”
Mike Zovath, a co-founder of Answers in Genesis and its Chief Action Officer, said it’s exciting to see the first phase of the project finally start to come to fruition.
“We’ve already started planning two additional phases,” Zovath said. “The Walled City is probably our next attraction because it’s an area that people can come into with a lot of entertainment and retail options. It’s like a Main Street.”
The Ark itself, which has a timber-frame structure will be, 510 feet long, 85 feet wide and 51 feet high. By comparison, a football field is 300 feet long.
“The research indicates it is going to be the largest timber-frame structure in the world,” Ham said. “This is going to be a massive attraction, just for the structure itself. I believe it will be one of the biggest attractions in this country and it’s going to have an incredible economic impact on the state of Kentucky.”
The Ark Encounter will have 132 exhibit bays that are being developed at a design center in Hebron. Visitors will be able to walk through three floors of exhibits to a deck on the top floor that will include a restaurant.
There are three towers at the Ark Encounter site and those on the east and west will house elevators and stairs. The middle tower will include restroom facilities and lead to the restaurant on the top deck.
The towers will ultimately extend to 76 feet tall, or seven stories, which is 30 feet higher than the tallest existing structure onsite.
Ham liked the wooden structure’s assembly process to a large erector set with thousands of pieces of numbered lumber that are put together using a complex instruction sheet. He compared the huge wooden bents, which weigh about 25,000 pounds each to slices of bread that combine to make a loaf.
Also on site Thursday were two Amish carpenters that are among the group that is assisting with the construction of the Ark.
Orie Lehman of Shipshewana, Indiana, said he is proud to be part of the project.
“I view it as very important and very significant in sharing the values that (Ham) has espoused,” Lehman said. “It’s very difficult, but if you take one day at a time , no big challenges have arisen that are much different than any (other project).”
Answers in Genesis, an Apologetics ministry, focuses on the absolute truth and authority of the Bible. Among its beliefs are that the Earth is only about 6,000 years old and that dinosaurs and modern man inhabited the planet at the same time.
The group also owns and operates the Creation Museum in Hebron.
Ham said independent research suggests that at least 1.4 million and potentially as many as 2.2 million people will visit the Ark Encounter each year.
The attraction is also expected to increase attendance at the Creation Museum by about 400,000 visitors per year as well.
“About 80 percent of the people that come to the Creation Museum come from outside of Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky,” Ham said. “It brings a lot of new dollars into Kentucky and the same (will be) true of the Ark.”
One million cubic yards of dirt has been moved to create the 4,000-space parking lot needed to accommodate crowds expected to be as high as 15,000 on peak days.
The numbers may seem ambitious, but when the Creation Museum opened in May 2007, it was estimated to draw about 250,000 visitors a year. In less than three years, its attendance surpassed 1 million.
Attendance at the Ark Encounter is expected to be so great the first year, Answers in Genesis plans to sell advance tickets to ensure the attraction can accommodate the crowds.
One of the biggest challenges for a themed venue is maintaining interest and the Creation Museum has done that by changing exhibits and adding attractions, including a zipline.
While there are also plans to add a zipline at the Grant County site, Ham said the fascination with the Ark itself is expected to generate plenty of interest from visitors around the world.
There is also expected to be a great deal of interest in the assembly of the giant wooden structure, especially as it nears completion. An observation area has been erected on a hill above the site and for $20 per carload, visitors can view the Ark’s construction.
Soooo – Noah also used “developers,” engineers, cranes, and a “Chief Action Officer” [guffaw!] to build the supposed real thing? “Replica,” hahahaha! I’m looking forward to the petting zoo supplying organic manure to the sustainable Garden of Eden at the neighboring Creation Museum. You DID think of that – didn’t you, Hammie? (The Garden of Eden is an inside fake “garden” with a vaguely multi-ethnic Adam and Eve who look like they stepped out of a soft porn film.)
According to bones dug up where the ark in Genesis landed, Noah was like 12 feet tall. It even says in Genesis that “there were giants in the earth in those days”. He probably had help too from his sons.
I live in Southern California but my family is planning to move to North Carolina in the fall next year. IM SO EXCITED TO FINALLY VISIT ANSWERS IN GENESIS AND THE ARK ENCOUNTER!!!