Local water park fans will have to wait an extra year before hitting the slides and lazy river.
Officials with Splash Kingdom announced Thursday night that the company’s Greenville water park will not open this summer as planned.
While work has been underway at the site along the Interstate 30 service road for more than a month, although Thursday’s announcement indicated that landscaping is about all which has been completed.
“The weather has been a bit unfavorable to the extensive dirt work that needs to be completed on the new development site,” according to Splash Kingdom President and CEO Johnny Blevins. “This will be a beautiful site and waterpark facility once it is completed, but there are several major elements that must be accomplished prior to the pools and slides being built.”
In order for Splash Kingdom to build the waterpark and to add utilities, Blevins said a new street connecting the service road to Roy Warren Parkway must be completed.
III to I Property Management Greenville, the group that is developing the entire property as the Greenville Towne Center, will be addressing the issue of the project as soon as weather permits.
Blevins said with the other three Splash Kingdom facilities opening within the next 30 – 60 days, and with the summer operating season only having about 100 days, the opportunity to complete the Greenville waterpark with enough time to train and open for the summer is just too short.
“We will continue to finalize plans and stage our waterpark equipment on the property through the busy summer while the road construction continues,” Blevins said. “The new waterpark facility will begin to take shape this fall and be fully operational for the 2015 spring and summer swimming season.”
When Splash Kingdom in Greenville does open, attractions at the park are expected to include a wave pool, lazy river and several water slides.
The Greenville park will be the fourth Splash Kingdom to open, alongside the parks in Canton and Hudson Oaks, and in Shreveport, La.
Splash Kingdom’s Director of Sales/Marketing, Mickey Lewis, wanted to remind Greenville area residents that season passes are good for all parks and special promotions for the Canton park will be activated through the Splash Kingdom Family Waterpark Greenville Facebook page.