A dinosaur museum and camp could come to Ames as part of a four-part project along Southeast 16th Street.

Along with the dinosaur museum and camp, a new Menards store, restaurant and hotel are also part of the potential project.

The proposed project would be a $48.4 million operation. Rick Worner of Leawood, Kan., of Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. applied for the project.

“The entire district can only be 25 acres. We can’t do Disney World in 25 acres,” Worner said. “They wanted something unique and something we could sell to tourism.”

The Field Station Dinosaurs Museum and Camp would take four acres of land. The project would be constructed at Southeast 16th Street between South Duff Avenue and Dayton Avenue.

“There is no dinosaur camp anywhere in the United States,” Worner said. “The dinosaur people are from New York.”

According to Worner, the New York dinosaur designers would not live here, they would come to Ames monthly to check in on how the business is running.

“I have been getting phone calls from people all week that don’t usually think about what City Council does,” said councilwoman Amber Corrieri. “They keep asking me why we are even considering a dinosaur camp and museum.”

Korb Maxwell, attorney with the Polsinelli law firm of Kansas City, Mo., who is representing Oppenheimer, said this attraction could bring approximately 430 direct and indirect jobs.

“All of the risk will end up on us, not the city of Ames,” Maxwell said. “Menards wants to be in this community.”

Maxwell said he believes the vibrancy that Iowa State brings to the community would end up bringing a base to the attraction.

“I am the parent of three children, and I cringe at the thought of my children going to this kind of thing because of the unlearning that has to go on afterward,” said Ames resident, Matt Hill.

According to Maxwell, the attraction would charge $12-13 per person. The majority of the attraction would be an outside facility.

“Whenever kids are out of school, we would tend to be open,” Maxwell said. “At minimum we would be open April through October.”

The City Council approved the resolution to find the area the project would be developed on suitable for redevelopment.

The city manager may now submit a pre-application to look at the project in more detail.

“This could be an add-on event to an Iowa State football game,” Maxwell said. “We are trying to get people to stay here longer.”

Councilman Matthew Goodman said he doesn’t believe it is the council’s job to decide whether dinosaurs are good or bad.

“We focus on the legality of it,” Goodman said.