When the museum's board of directors met to discuss the future of the sinkhole disaster that harmed eight rare Corvettes, three main options were put to the vote - "1) fill the sinkhole and replace the floor; 2) keep the entire sinkhole as is; 3) keep a smaller portion of the hole open." After much debate, 14 of 16 members decided to go with the latter option September cometh.
This decision comes as no surprise after the 40-feet wide x 60-feet deep sinkhole opened up back in February. After the incident was brought up on different media channels around the world, attendance of the National Corvette Museum has hiked a whopping 59 percent from March to June 23rd compared to the same period last year, translating to increased gift shop revenue, bigger financial donations and other favorable public responses.
Vette enthusiasts might be interested to learn that until September they'll be able to visit the museum and see the sinkhole as is, along with all the mangled Corvettes exhibited in all their rubble-laden glory. However, the third option implies that when fall comes to town, the sinkhole will be slightly modified. Basically, construction engineers will reduce the cavity's size to 25-feet by 45-feet wide x 30-feet deep, all while providing an excellent view down into a portion of the cave which will be adorned with "one or two cars." Christy Thomas, CFO for the museum, declared that “If the interest in the [new] exhibit wanes, or if down the road we decided that we don’t want the hole any longer there is always an option to put the room back how it was.”
From our point of view, this witty, left field change of heart is a pretty inspired thing to do in the long run and the National Corvette Museum in Kentucky will benefit greatly from going forward with 'Option 3'. “We have to look at creative ways to generate interest in the Museum,” stated Executive Director Wendell Strode. “It would be so much easier to just be a regular automotive museum with our Corvettes on display, but we have to think outside the box.”
In other news, the museum will celebrate its 20th anniversary with an event slated to take place from August 27th to 30th, while NCM Motorsports Park and it's pretty awesome circuit will see its grand opening event on August 28th. “We have a lot to be thankful for right now,” concluded Strode. “We really want to thank all those who have stood by us during this difficult time, and we are looking forward to celebrating with everyone in August! “
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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