Parker Leavitt

The Republic | azcentral.com

OdySea Aquarium, with more than 2 million gallons of water and 30,000 animals, plans to open Saturday on the Salt River Reservation near Scottsdale, company officials said Thursday.

The privately-owned, for-profit aquarium spans 200,000 square feet in the OdySea in the Desert entertainment complex at Loop 101 and Via de Ventura and is one of the largest aquariums in the U.S. Construction cost more than $100 million and the attraction is larger than other major aquariums in Seattle, San Francisco and New Orleans.

Single-day admission will cost $34.95 for an adult and $24.95 for a child, according to the company. It is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. More information is available at odyseaaquarium.com.

Get a sneak peek inside OdySea Aquarium near Scottsdale

Animals on exhibit include penguins, otters, eight species of sharks, sea turtles, piranhas, the giant Pacific octopus and thousands of tropical fish housed in a martini-glass-shaped aquarium. Other attractions include a 10-minute 3D film called "Giants of the Ocean," a 37-foot touch pool with sea cucumbers and hermit crabs, and a cafe.

OdySea Aquarium is part of a larger entertainment complex called OdySea in the Desert, which features several anchor attractions around a ring of shops and restaurants. Other attractions include Butterfly Wonderland and Polar Play, a below-freezing ice bar with a frozen playground for kids that is still under construction.

Another attraction called Dolphinaris has created controversy for its plans to bring captive dolphins to the desert. Dolphinaris is a separately owned company in the OdySea complex.

Construction for OdySea Aquarium began in May 2015 and included 2 million pounds of steel, 42,000 feet of piping and 12,300 cubic yards of concrete — roughly enough to pour 740 residential driveways.

OdySea Aquarium can accommodate up to 15,000 guests per day, and the owners are hoping to attract between 1.8 million and 2 million visitors in the first year. That's on par with other major U.S. aquariums. Monterey Bay Aquarium welcomed about 2.1 million visitors in 2015.

The aquarium will hold about 2 million gallons of freshwater and saltwater and expects to use about 4 million gallons per year to replenish that supply, developer Amram Knishinsky said. That's roughly the same amount of water used by 27 households over a year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The water will be purchased from the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, Knishinsky said.