Plans for new planetarium unveiled

RENO - Plans for a $46.5 million science center to replace Reno's aging Fleischmann Planetarium have been unveiled.

A Boston consultant hired by the planetarium said the proposed 81,000-square-foot Great Basin Exploration Center could draw 207,000 visitors a year, four times the number Fleischmann attracts.

The center could include an IMAX Theater, interactive displays and an expanded planetarium.

The proposal could be part of a sweeping downtown redevelopment plan or could be built at another location, said Fleischmann director Art Johnson.

The four sites being considered are the current Fleischmann site on the University of Nevada, Reno campus, near Circus-Circus Hotel-Casino in downtown Reno, Rancho San Rafael Regional Park in northwest Reno and UNR's Redfield campus in south Reno.

Johnson said he would spend the next three months trying to determine if there's sufficient community support to pay for the project.