A new USS Arizona Memorial Visitor Center is scheduled to open Dec. 7, 2009 — 67 years after the World War II Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Work will begin in December.

The proposed 23,000-square-foot visitor center will primarily be open air and covered with tent-like structures. It will dwarf the existing 16,000 square-foot center, said Jonathan B. Jarvis, regional director for the National Park Service.

The new center is scheduled to open Dec. 7, 2009 — 68 years after the World War II Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

The cost is projected at $52 million, most of which is expected to be raised through private donations, Jarvis said. The federal government's contribution is expected to be $7 million.