Massive expansion voluntarily paid for by the local community, and increased attendance, membership, spending, and private corporate contributions. And it now takes just one person to buy a banana. Without having to directly compete with classrooms and jail cells for funding, the Pittsburgh Zoo has been able to revamp its infrastructure, expand its educational offerings, build a new children's zoo, and attract any number of local corporate partners. Even though enlarged, each institution costs the local community far less than before in direct government support. No massive firings took place.
Educational programs continue and, in fact, have been increased at each institution.
When forced to break even, the aviary had to evaluate its prices and eventually raised them slightly. The zoo has not dramatically changed its prices since privatization. Because the budget has to balance, they cannot rise above the market level. Most important for animal lovers, both institutions have secured their futures against city budget cuts. By its very nature, any municipality will have a number of entities competing for scarce resources.