Corrections & Clarifications: The city of Scottsdale paid to build Western Spirit: Scottsdale's Museum of the West, while the non-profit that runs it was required to come up with more than half of the funding for its operations. A previous version of the story gave incorrect information.

More than 2½ years after opening, Western Spirit: Scottsdale's Museum of the West is growing attendance and officials hope to renew city funding, which has at this point run dry.

The museum's experience becomes increasingly relevant as plans for the controversial Desert EDGE, formerly known as the Desert Discovery Center,are partly modeled after the Museum of the West's business plan. Both are public-private partnerships relying on bed-tax dollars for construction and operation.

The museum, one of more than 200 Smithsonian affiliates in the U.S. and eight in Arizona, is owned by the city and run by a non-profit.

Among the 19th-century lawman badges and artifacts from Lewis and Clark's expedition are scores of vintage movie posters featuring John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart and other old-time icons, sculptures harkening back to the Western frontier and pre-WWII New York Times front pages bearing headlines such as "U.S. Agents Shoot Aide of Dillinger."

Although the museum struggled to attract tourists in its first year, when about seven in 10 visitors were Scottsdale residents, executive director Mike Fox said about 44 percent of visitors are now tourists.

The city had a five-year commitment, which predated the museum's opening, to give the non-profit $400,000 per year for operations. This was the final year of the funding and Fox said the non-profit will ask the city in early 2018 to renew its commitment.

Along with city funds, which make up about 24 percent of the museum's revenue, it relies on ticket sales, memberships, private donations and special events, Fox said.

"In our business, it’s far more than people coming in the front door and paying admission," he said.

How has the museum fared?

The museum's halls house thousands of artifacts from the 18th and 19th centuries. Paintings of cowboys and Native Americans, centuries-old handcuffs and poker tables pepper the glass showcases.

Interactive touch-screen monitors and iPads play educational videos that complement, and contrast, the exhibits.

In a display of handmade saddles, an iPad displays a video re-enactment of a cowboy packing for his journey, showing visitors how the artifacts were once used in everyday life.

New exhibits steadily rotate through the museum. This June alone, the museum had three new exhibits. Next month, the museum will showcase a Hopi pottery collection with ceramics dating back to the 14th century.

A couple dozen feet from the exhibits, visitors can buy Museum of the West coffee mugs, jewelry and Western-themed books in the gift shop.

However, that's not where the money is made, Fox said.

Of the museum's $1.7 million in total revenue last year, Fox said:

Ticket sales made up about 21 percent.

City funds accounted for about 24 percent.

Fundraising made up about 41 percent.

And the gift shop, memberships and room rentals made up the remaining 14 percent.

The museum finished 2016 more than $900,000 in the red, according to its tax returns. The documents show the museum lost about $1 million in contributions and grants from the prior year and purchased $625,000 in new exhibits.

Fox, who once served as director of Phoenix's Heard Museum, said the $625,000 figure isn't what it seems. Even if a museum pays off a new exhibit over several years, it must record the whole amount in one year's taxes, he said.

"This is something that’s really misleading in our business," he said, explaining that in 2016 they committed to acquiring a collection and to pay for it over five years.

Jim Bruner, chairman of the museum's board of directors, said he and the rest of the board anticipated deficits early on.

He's confident the museum will finish this year in the black and he said the museum drew on its cash reserve to make up the recent deficit.

Along with the purchase of artifacts, Bruner said a drop in donations caused the deficit. Donors aren't always eager to give to a project without much of a track record, he said.

However, Bruner said he thinks the museum's performance since opening will attract more donors. He said he'd rather shell out to acquire impressive exhibits early on to ensure the museum consistently finishes in the black in future years.

"Our board will accept responsibility the first year or two or three if we’re in the red a little bit. That’s OK," he said. "If we didn’t have the first-class exhibits … we wouldn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell to get anybody to give money to this museum."

Attendance has increased at the museum, according to Fox. He said he didn't have specific numbers, but expects about 75,000 visits this year, which include admissions and visitors to special events, which he said is up from about 65,000 its first year.

Stephanie Pressler, Experience Scottsdale community affairs manager, said the museum is important for downtown and Old Town Scottsdale because nearly half of the city's tourists are repeat visitors.

"Our visitors tend to be affluent and they can go just about anywhere in the world that they want," she said. "Two years ago, Museum of the West was this fantastic new offering and it’s still new to people who haven’t been here in a couple years."

Colorado resident Dave Krueger, 57, was visiting Arizona to help move his son into Arizona State University. When their flight landed at Sky Harbor, he saw an advertisement for the Museum of the West and decided to check it out, he said.

Has it impacted local business?

The museum is within walking distance of dozens of Old Town businesses, including restaurants, art galleries and jewelry shops.

Nearby business owners reported a slight boon when the museum opened in 2015.

Business owners and managers who recently spoke to The Republic said they expect to see more of an increase as word of mouth for the museum increases.

"We've had a few people mention that they've come from the museum," said Ray Edwards, who works at David's Original Hamburgers in Old Town. "Business is kind of slow, but that's the time of year."

Could this model work for Desert EDGE?

When Scottsdale City Council members commissioned the Desert Discovery Center Scottsdale non-profit to oversee plans for Desert EDGE, they told the non-profit to follow the Museum of the West's template, former Mayor and DDCS Executive Director Sam Campana said.

Desert EDGE plans became public last month and were met with mixed reactions at initial public meetings.

Bill Peifer, DDCS project manager, was Scottsdale's principle project manager when the Musem of the West was in its planning stages. He recalls working with the non-profit and requiring that it would pay at least half the operating costs. The city paid to build the $11.4 million building.

The DDCS has committed to raising at least 10 percent of the $61.2 million needed to build the attraction. The non-profit could also draw $700,000 per year from the city for the desert center's first five years of operation.

Campana said she isn't planning on asking for the $700,000 in early proposals, but has included the figure in business plans, which the City Council will review in late September.

Opponents like Jason Alexander, who in June leveled a notice of claim against the city with NoDDC that is pushing for the issue to go to a public vote, said he sees the Museum of the West as a "loss leader" for downtown Scottsdale and is worried Desert EDGE won't perform as well.

The museum is "right there in a great location to create synergy in the downtown area, they can do nighttime activities," he said. "These are things that the DDC does not have going for them."