Fun at the museum

The Newport Harbor Nautical Museum has plans to move to Balboa Fun Zone. Say good-bye to mini golf.A deal that would pave the way for the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum to move to the Balboa Fun Zone is expected to wrap up soon.

In the spring, museum officials opened an escrow account with Balboa Fun Zone Rides Inc. to buy the land currently occupied by the Fun Zone’s attractions. People on both sides of the deal are optimistic that the Nautical Museum will finalize the buy within weeks.

“We anticipate before the end of the year,” said David Muller, the Nautical Museum’s executive director.

The completion of the deal could lead to a new look for the Balboa Village, though major changes to the Fun Zone are not likely before the end of next September, Balboa Fun Zone Rides’ president, Joe Tunstall, said.

Tunstall’s company would retain a 30-year lease to operate the Fun Zone’s famous Ferris wheel, but many of the current amusements could be cleared out to make way for museum exhibits.

“I think the more museum space they occupy, the more reason people have to come down,” Tunstall said.

For example, the indoor miniature golf course is likely to be cleared out as soon as the deal closes, Tunstall said.

The Nautical Museum’s present home is a riverboat in Newport Harbor. The boat is expected to be sold after the deal is completed, Muller said. He said leaving the riverboat for Balboa Village would allow the museum to expand its exhibits.

“Let’s shoot for the stars and be ecstatic about reaching the moon,” Muller said.

The museum could have a presence in the Fun Zone area as early as the end of September, Muller said. He wants to introduce the museum to Balboa Village visitors by finding space for “top-quality interactive exhibits.”

Tunstall views the prospect for change as a good thing. If the Nautical Museum succeeds in attracting visitors to Balboa Village, he expects neighboring merchants and restaurants would benefit from increased foot traffic.

“If I didn’t think it was the best for the future of what I tried to build down here, I wouldn’t be interested,” Tunstall said.

The Fun Zone started in 1936, and Tunstall secured a job there in 1951, one year before he finished the eighth grade. The Fun Zone was rebuilt in the mid-1980s. In 1985, Tunstall and a business partner formed Balboa Fun Zone Rides Inc. and secured a 25-year lease to run the Ferris wheel and merry-go-round. Balboa Fun Zone Rides purchased the Fun Zone in 1994.

At its present locale, the Nautical Museum has a lease with the Irvine Co. that is set to expire in June 2006, though Irvine Co. spokeswoman Jennifer Hieger said that lease can be extended two years to allow the museum time to move. She also said that Irvine Co. executives have no specific plans for that property after the museum leaves.20051215idiw9xkfMARK C. DUSTIN / DAILY PILOT(LA)The Newport Harbor Nautical Museum may move to the Balboa Fun Zone. Here, Newport Beach resident Ben Bennett looks at trophies on display at the museum.