Colorful water park slides and pool
While most US cities are not located near an ocean, many municipalities are now finding a sea of revenue by opening up their own water park to the delight of local residents and attract tourist dollars. Cities are breaking records every year with attendance. More and more town officials are finding a way to justify the cost to build a water park and transforming a pool into a wonderland of slides, "lazy rivers," wave simulators and fountains.
In fact Hotel & Leisure Advisors reports there are now a total of 858 water parks in the US. Those are parks owned by either a municipality or resort hotel.
If you live in the Midwest, you no longer have to travel all the way to Orlando to fly down a mammoth slide. There are more water parks there - 339 - than anywhere else.
The Southern US is next, followed by the West and then the Northeast.
When it comes to outdoor water parks, municipalities lead the way. There are 345 city-owned facilities located in the US with 170 in the Midwest, 122 in the South, 47 in the West and six in the Northeast.
Even for standalone municipal indoor water parks, the Midwest leads with 24, with nine in the South and 18 in the Western states followed by just one in the Northeast. (A standalone indoor water park is a facility with 10,000 square feet of aquatic area and multiple water features such as slides, wave pools, etc.).
Many municipalities are very happy with the results of their commitment in the millions to what it costs to build a water park.
"In today's world, people don't want to just go to a pool," Canyon City Manager Randy Criswall said in an interview with the Amarillo Times. "They want to go to a water park."
Consider the multiple revenue opportunities - entrance fees, parking fees, concession stands, locker rentals, retail sales, etc.
Another big benefit of a water park is all the employment it creates. You need people to run the concessions stands, collect fees and you also need a multitude of lifeguards to watch swimmers at every water feature, sometimes more than one.
Not only do you need lifeguards, you also need people to check height requirements, etc. Then there's the maintenance crew that has to clean up after all those swimmers. It's quite a team. Lots of summer jobs for local citizens.
Consider the tourism aspect. Many parks and recreation officials are reporting they are drawing large numbers of people from surrounding municipalities and even nearby states. In the heat of the summer when kids are stuck indoors, moms and dad will drive long distances to let their kids loose in these water parks.
According to Waterparks.com, about 85 million people visited a water park in North America with average growth of 3-5% annually.
That's a great opportunity for revenue for the town. Because not only do visitors spend their money at the water park, but they also buy gas, dinner and more at local retail establishments.
Resorts also jumping into the water park pool
Private companies are getting into the act as well with 274 private water parks in the US. Local officials would be smart to help attract this investment in their community. There are reportedly 47 resorts with outdoor water parks. For one, this attraction fills rooms. Secondly, these resorts are able to command a much higher price.
For example, resorts in the Poconos are going crazy over getting people wet.
The Camelback Lodge and Aquatopia Indoor Water Park in Tannersville, PA, expanded to 125,000 square feet of water park area. That facility offers seven pools, 13 slides, a river and the longest indoor water coaster in the country. There's also a 1,000 gallon dumping bucket. All this is housed under a clear transparent roof.
Just down the road, the Kalahari Resort in Pocono Manor also grew and is now 106,000 square feet of water park space. Their roof is retractable and if you want to rent a cabana just like at the beach, you can. You can go there to dry off after hanging out at the swim-up bar.
These Pocono entities are looking for ways to replace skiing as the only attraction in a season that lasts a few months or suffers low amounts of snowfall. They can see families are gaga over letting junior ride down a slide in a bathing suit instead of a mountain in skis. Water parks are year round. Once a pool is filled, it's filled. With ski resorts, your winter window is small and constantly making snow can get expensive.
"To survive and prosper, ski resorts need to reinvent themselves as different products in different seasons," said Jeff Coy, President of Arizona-based JLC Hospitality Consulting and a water park industry expert. "The most successful resorts are those that adopt a strategy to capture year-round revenues."
Many towns look at the Wisconsin Dells in Wisconsin which believe or not, is recognized as the "Water Park Capital of the World." There are several indoor water parks located in this town.
(FYI- Disney World's Typhoon Lagoon is considered the "most visited" water park in America and second in the world.)
The $5 billion American Dream Meadowlands in Northern New Jersey boasts it will soon have the country's largest indoor water park PLUS largest indoor amusement park. Oh, and that includes the first indoor ski hill in both North and South America, the world's steepest roller coaster and the tallest twin-body water slides.
Naturally, those titles won't last very long.
All this competition is going to spur a water park arms race with facilities building crazier and bigger attractions to outdo one another. That's an awesome benefit for consumers. That construction and expansion is also a nice payday for local towns and workers.
One thing is abundantly clear as a well-maintained pool. The public loves water parks. This fervor is prompting towns and private enterprise not to be afraid to ante up the funds to cover the cost to build a water park.
For people stuck in an area where it is either too hot or too cold to go outside, this is one great family excursion they are willing to spend their money on. It's a water-filled windfall for everybody.
For water park furnishings such as waterproof recycled plastic benches or recycled plastic picnic tables and other items visit The Park and Facilities Catalog.