San Diego property owners will steer more than $20 million to the San Diego Zoo this year, a tax subsidy voters approved back in 1934 when they wanted to make sure the wildlife attraction would remain financially feasible for years to come.
The zoo also stands to collect millions of dollars from new parking fees expected to begin early next year. The rates have yet to be announced, but zoo officials said they would align with broader Balboa Park parking fees approved last week by the City Council.
Both income streams will add to the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance’s already hefty portfolio — more than $1 billion in total assets, a pot of money that has been growing by tens of millions of dollars a year, federal tax filings show.
Zoo officials say most of the money is earmarked for ongoing projects and critical research. They also say their work over many years has created and sustained a global effort that attracts thousands of people to the community every year.
“As a nonprofit organization, the San Diego Wildlife Alliance is dedicated to saving species worldwide while also contributing $2.1 billion annually to the San Diego economy,” the zoo said in written responses to questions.
“The assets you referenced reflect decades of substantial capital investments we’ve made into the city of San Diego’s property under our lease, as well as restricted endowments designated by donors and long-term liabilities we are obligated to fulfill,” they wrote.
San Diego elected leaders on Tuesday adopted Balboa Park parking fees to help balance a budget that earlier this year was more than $250 million out of whack. But that plan excluded the thousands of spaces in zoo parking lots.
The zoo declined for decades to charge for parking, but the city’s move to do so elsewhere in the park forced its hand. Annual Balboa Park parking passes will cost city residents $100 and nonresidents $300 — down from the city’s initial proposals.
The zoo said its leadership is “actively engaged in discussions” with San Diego officials over the parking fees expected to go into effect Jan. 5. “Internally, we are preparing to align with the city’s timeline and proposed fee structure to ensure a smooth implementation,” the zoo said in its statement.
Vehicles fill the San Diego Zoo parking lot in Balboa Park on Sept. 15, 2025 in San Diego. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
In September, the City Council approved an amendment to the 55-year lease allowing the zoo to charge reduced amounts to employees, volunteers, donors or others — variable pricing that was not permitted under the agreement approved in 1979.
Now, the city and zoo are negotiating a second amendment that will not only determine how parking revenue will be shared between the two entities but also a broader set of terms.
Neither San Diego nor zoo officials would discuss the deal points being negotiated, but they presumably include extending the current lease that is set to expire in July 2034 — barely eight years from now.
They also could include a new rent schedule, given the city’s challenging budget situation. San Diego officials declined to comment on whether they intend to demand more revenue from the zoo.
A spokesperson for Mayor Todd Gloria said he could not discuss the potential lease terms now under negotiation.
But he did say the city collects little or no money from the 100 or so acres of public space controlled by the zoo in Balboa Park.
“No revenue is generated from the zoo lease,” spokesperson David Rolland said in an emailed statement. “However, the miniature train lease with the Zoological Society, which is separate from the zoo lease, has generated $850,966.31 since 2015.”
The latest audit completed by the zoological society shows that its San Pasqual Valley facility, the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, paid $102,000 in rent to the city last year, or $8,500 a month, under its agreement.
At the San Diego Zoo Safari Park’s Condor Ridge space, volunteer Jacey Humes, at right with hat, speaks to a group of visiting science students from Moreno Valley. Two California condors can be seen in the distance. (Charlie Neuman / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
According to the 1979 contract, net revenue from admissions, concessions and other fees were used to pay off a $6 million bond for park improvements. Once that debt was fully paid, the zoo was allowed to retain net revenues for the betterment of the organization and its animals.
As a result, the nonprofit zoo has been able to boost its income — and savings — year after year. The zoo also saves money on routine purchases, offering tickets and other concessions to vendors in exchange for cash payments, according to the organization’s financial statements.
Auditors said the zoo reported some $1.1 million in so-called barter transactions.
Zoo records also show the organization collected $20.6 million last year from the property-tax subsidy San Diego voters approved in 1934. Under that section of the city charter, the zoo gets 5 cents for every $100 of valuation.
Meanwhile, the zoo’s federal tax returns indicate that its net wealth continues to climb to record heights.
The most recent tax filing, which covers the year ending Dec. 31, 2023, shows the nonprofit had $955 million in total assets. That’s almost $90 million less than the amount cited in the audit released this past April, when the zoo reported $1.05 billion in total assets for the year ending Dec. 31, 2024.
Male panda Yun Chuan sat and enjoyed a batch of fresh bamboo during his first public viewing at the San Diego Zoo on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in San Diego. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Zoo officials have not been shy about spending its growing revenue. In recent years, they have allocated millions of dollars to renovations and upgrades across its properties.
The nonprofit completed a significant remodel of a special enclosure ahead of last year’s arrival of two giant pandas from China. The 12.5-acre Denny Sanford Elephant Valley, a capital project whose cost has not been publicly disclosed, has been scheduled to open early next year.
Despite such major investments, historical records show the zoo has been growing its assets by hundreds of millions of dollars over recent years.
Twice in the past decade, the nonprofit sanctuary recorded less in total assets than it had reported in the prior year — most recently 2022, when assets dipped by $35 million to just under $871 million, and previously in 2020, when it slipped by about $9 million to $827 million.
But every other year going back a decade or more shows huge jumps in the amount of total assets reported.
The $954.8 million the zoo reported in total assets at the end of 2023, for example, was almost $75 million more than the prior year, federal tax filings show. In 2015, the zoo held $545 million in total assets, while the most recent audit shows $1.046 million.
Zoo officials said all of the money it collects from admissions, concessions, donations and taxes is critical to preserving the stewardship and research the organization provides.
“These resources are essential to sustaining our mission and operations,” the zoo said.
The front entrance to one of San Diego’s premier attractions, the San Diego Zoo. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
A spokesperson for the zoo said virtually the same thing in 2016, when The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that the then-$50 cost of a single adult admission — defined as 12 years and older — was notably higher than what other zoos around the country charge.
For decades after its founding in 1916, generations of families enjoyed low-cost admission to the San Diego Zoo. Children under 16 got free entrance until 1977.
Today a ticket for a child — age 3 to 11 — is $66 for one day. The adult daily admission is $76. The zoo offers $4 discounts on child and adult passes on certain days if tickets are purchased in advance.