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A study on the economic feasibility of locating two museums on the West Side says they could attract 322,000 visitors a year.

That's more than triple what the museums draw at their current locations near the University of Arizona Main Gate.

The feasibility study for the Arizona Historical Society and the Arizona State Museum was required by the city of Tucson for the two facilities to qualify for a planned $16 million subsidy from the Rio Nuevo Downtown redevelopment program. Planners estimate the two new museums could cost a combined $100 million.

The study was conducted by ConsultEcon Inc., a private economic research firm.

"They've established their feasibility now," Rio Nuevo Director Greg Shelko said. "We've moved from planning to pre-development."

Shelko said the extra 322,000 visitors to the museums would bring that many more residents to the Downtown area to browse, eat and shop. He said the report shows the museums would be a boon to Downtown and the Rio Nuevo project.

The next step is developing architectural plans and figuring costs for the two buildings, which would be built near the reconstructed Convento and chapel of the San Agustín Mission west of Interstate 10 near the Santa Cruz River, Shelko said.

Representatives of the two museums said their existing facilities now attract about 50,000 visitors each. They said the jump in attendance is expected because of the better location, the increased number of exhibits, the facilities' newness and the ability to package the two museums with the adjacent recreation at the Convento and other historical structures.

Other museums Downtown include the Tucson Museum of Art, with 64,000 annual visitors, and the Tucson Children's Museum, with 70,000 visits per year.

Bill Ponder, chief administrative officer for the Arizona Historical Society, said the study validates the society's plan for the new museum. He said current plans call for a new $60 million museum on the West Side.

"It shows that given a prominent location, with a project of this magnitude, that it can be a successful project," Ponder said.

Beth Grindell, associate director of the Arizona State Museum, said the two museums would create a cultural and historic district on the West Side near Downtown. The most recent estimate for a new State Museum is $47 million, but that's considered outdated and low, Grindell said.

"We're excited that the study was as good as it was," Grindell said. "We're hoping there will be a lot of public support for this."

The study is expected to go to the City Council next week.