What has kept the place running is the sale of Soleri's wind bells. Every year 15,000 of them are made at the metal foundry and ceramics studio on the grounds, and sold in the visitors' center and at stores around the world. The bells have become so popular among the 45,000 tourists who visit Arcosanti every year that they account for 40 percent of its operating budget. Much of the remainder comes from donations, tour money, and from Soleri's speaking and writing fees. Never mind that tourists often confuse Arcosanti with the Biosphere, another futuristic project set in Arizona.
Visitors often ask frustrated guides when they plan to lock people inside.
Arcosanti's lack of money has forced drastic reductions. Soleri initially planned a community large enough to house 5,000 permanent residents. He now says he'd be happy to reach 500 some time before his death, but even that seems farfetched. Still, the building proceeds, one chunk of cement at a time. The labor is done by idealistic architecture students and others accepted into workshops.