Nice Mob Museum you got there; it’d be a shame if it’s not a hit

Once the hoopla dies down about Tuesday's opening of the Mob Museum downtown, it will take time to answer the question: If we build it, will they come?

Will the much-vaunted Mob Museum draw tourists and locals?

Estimates of visitors dropped from an initial optimistic estimate of 800,000 visitors annually to a current estimate of 300,000 visitors annually.

Perhaps the backers of the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement (the politically correct name destined for non-use) learned from the Springs Preserve, the $250 million project built and operated by the Southern Nevada Water Authority.

The preserve now draws only about one-third of the 600,000 people predicted in 2007. The tourists who were supposed to find it a top-notch attraction just never turned out in droves.

Since the idea of a Mob Museum was first mentioned publicly by former Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman in March 2002, it's been controversial. When Goodman first floated the idea, it was bashed so much, he joked he had proposed a "mop museum."

But he was the primary instigator and pulled a lot of people on board what hopefully will not turn into a sinking ship.

Many object to the idea of glamorizing the mob, but they haven't seen it yet to judge for themselves; they're assuming.

Many don't like that the bulk of the $42 million cost is borne by taxpayers. The money comes in many ways: general funds, bonds, state and federal grants and the largest sum, the $11.5 million in city Redevelopment Agency funds. Almost all the money is from tax dollars in one form or another.

Once it opens Tuesday, the city of Las Vegas turns the operation over to a nonprofit called The 300 Stewart Avenue Corporation, which holds the responsibility to operate the museum.

The nonprofit headed by Ellen Knowlton, former head of the FBI in Las Vegas, has about $600,000 to start paying for operations -- about $400,000 of the grant money in reserve and another $200,000 in construction savings, according to city spokesman Jace Radke.

To cover operating costs estimated at $5 million a year, museum officials will rely on admission fees, souvenir sales, facility rentals, memberships and grants. They also plan to raise money through sponsorships, donations and grants to pay for capital improvements, educational initiatives and building up the operating reserve.

Admission fees are $10 plus tax for all Nevadans and staggered rates that go up to $18 plus tax for non-Nevadans.

Since 2002, there have been numerical changes. At one time, the cost was $30 million. Now it's $42 million. The museum will employ 100 people, double the initial estimates.

A media tour today and the public opening on Valentine's Day (St. Valentine's Day Massacre, get it?) will provide answers about the quality and honesty of the Mob Museum.

I became optimistic about the quality when creative director Dennis Barrie came on board, since I'd heard only good about the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C., and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, both projects where Barrie played prominent creative roles. Until I see it, I'll reserve my opinion about the honesty aspect.

One of the most thoughtful critiques about the concept came from the highly quotable late history professor Hal Rothman in 2007. "Nevada's peculiarity is not that we have vice; it's that we've made a virtue out of vice. And nothing would crown that more than having a Mob Museum. This is entirely consistent with what we do here, with the way we package the past and we make caricatures of things."

To critics, Goodman has responded curtly: "Don't come."

The Mob Museum has the potential to enhance Goodman's reputation as a visionary for downtown redevelopment. But the potential also exists that in a year we'll be complaining about a visitor shortage and blaming Goodman for building a boondoggle.

Jane Ann Morrison's column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. Email her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call her at (702) 383-0275. She also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/Morrison.