A City Building on Mud Island Went 56 of Its First 92 Days Without Working Air Conditioning. Its Tenant Is Asking Memphis for $5 Million.

The immersive attraction that opened in the former river museum on May 1 told the council on August 4 it has drawn 10,283 ticketed visitors and $220,000 in gross sales. It also reported 28 days of indoor temperatures in the high eighties and above, a 15-day run of them, a plumbing failure that closed the bathrooms within ten days of opening, and one working escalator.

MEMPHIS, August 4, 2026 - The company operating an immersive attraction inside a city-owned building on Mud Island told the Memphis City Council on August 4 that it was without air conditioning for 56 days of its first three months open, including a 15-day consecutive stretch, and that indoor temperatures reached 88 degrees and above on 28 of those days.

It also told the council it wants the city to clear the way for a minimum $5 million first-phase infrastructure investment in the building, starting with an independent forensic engineering assessment of what the roughly 50-year-old structure actually needs.

The company appeared before the Economic Development, Tourism and Technology Committee for an update on Mud Island requested by Councilwoman Pearl Eva Walker and Chairwoman Jana Swearengen-Washington.

What the company reported

The attraction opened its doors on May 1. Its chief executive told the committee it welcomed its 10,000th visitor over the preceding weekend, and that ticketing data posted at the end of the previous day showed 10,283 ticketed visitors, not counting private tours.

She gave the committee the rest of the numbers. Gross sales exceeding $220,000 since opening, a portion of which goes to sales tax and a portion to rent paid to Memphis River Parks Partnership, which she said the company is current on for its first three months of operation. Ratings of 4.6 and 5.0 on two review platforms. Visitors representing 44 states plus Washington, D.C. and at least ten countries, drawn from ticketing data and conversations with visitors.

On employment, she said the company has committed to an annual payroll of about $650,000 across nine full-time employees, with six part-time employees working front of house and between eight and ten contractors. She said three of the team are industry veterans, including one recruited from New Mexico who had run a comparable attraction there for five years.

The company reported 15 field trips hosting almost 900 students and educators, with no outbound sales effort, from Memphis-Shelby County Schools and private and parochial schools in the area, plus visits from institutions in Mississippi, Nashville and Chattanooga.

On the island itself, she said foot traffic to the building rose 418 percent year over year for the May-to-June period, and average dwell time on the island rose from 27 minutes to 66 minutes.

The building

Then she turned to what she called the headwinds.

Of the roughly three months open, the company was operating with a critical air conditioning outage for 56 days. On 28 of those days indoor temperatures were 88 degrees and into the nineties and above, including a 15-day consecutive run. A plumbing failure shut down the bathrooms within ten days of opening. One escalator was working. The company brought in portable cooling units.

She told the committee the partners responding to these problems, which include the city, general services and their contractors, are responsive and are holding the building together with what they know, but that they know the long-term solutions and need the intention and the capital investment behind them to implement them. She described the building as carrying a 50-year-old type of infrastructure and said the company believes it is worth preserving for the next generation.

Asked by Chairwoman Swearengen-Washington what the company needs from the council, she said it wants obstacles cleared to start a minimum $5 million first-phase infrastructure initiative. She said the company knows the council has seen proposals asking for $50 million or $100 million and that $200 million could be spent on Mud Island, but that its own model is incremental, and that the first step is knowing forensically what the building needs and what it will cost to maintain going forward.

What the council raised

Chairwoman Swearengen-Washington noted that no one from Memphis River Parks Partnership was present, and said the partnership should return with the company and with Memphis Parks for a follow-up meeting because the arrangement is a partnership.

She raised paid parking. The company said there are three options at the lot: one hour, two hours, and 24 hours, priced at $7.50, $9.50 and roughly $20 to $24. The chairwoman said the lot is one the city has leased to a company that is making money on it, and suggested the city look at whether visitors coming to the attraction could have parking discounted or offset, given that the rent and the visitor spending may cover it. She said someone needs to talk to parking about it.

Admission is $20 per person including tax, for adults and children alike.

Councilman Dr. Jeff Warren said the numbers exceeded what he expected and that the city does not really have a plan for the park. He suggested a set of low-cost improvements, including getting all the bathrooms working and cutting back non-native trees that have grown up and now block the river view, and said the council may need to budget for that work and direct the river parks partnership to do it because it is not within the budget the partnership has.

Councilwoman Rhonda Logan asked how the company is marketing itself, and separately asked where the riverfront master plan stands and whether the company is at the table for it. The company's head of communications said the architect leading the riverfront master plan has been out to the site and has included the company in presentations. Staff said they are pulling that together to bring back to the council collectively.

Councilwoman Yolanda Cooper-Sutton and Councilman Edmund H. Ford Sr. both raised long-standing ideas for the island, including a Ferris wheel and a carousel, and Ford said the riverfront partnership, parks and the administration all need to be part of a single plan. Chairwoman Swearengen-Washington said what the committee is looking for is a vision for the island, and that right now things happen and get taken care of but the approach is reactive.

Councilman Warren noted separately that Viking river cruise ships have been docking at Mud Island, that a covered area for buses has been built at the upper parking lot, and that he believes there is an issue with docking at the city's port.

What happens next

The committee asked the company, Memphis River Parks Partnership and Memphis Parks to return together at a subsequent meeting so a plan for the island can be discussed with all parties present. Staff committed to bringing back the riverfront master plan status. Chairwoman Swearengen-Washington said the parking arrangement needs to be revisited with the city's parking operation. No item was voted on; this was an update and discussion item.

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