posted May 12, 2008
Splash Valley, the much anticipated and oft-delayed water park planned for East Ridge, will not open in 2008, according to developer David Mayes.
"We have made the decision to put off opening Splash Valley in 2008," Mr. Mayes said during a Monday afternoon telephone appearance on Talk Radio WGOW 102.3 FM. "We will instead open in 2009. This will give us time...to make the park even better."
Mr. Mayes, who is developing the water park with his business partner Shawn Callahan, said the decision to bypass the 2008 season entirely was necessitated by repeated construction delays due in part to the complexities of obtaining local, state and federal regulatory approval.
"The local and state folks and the other authorities have not made it hard on us at all," Mr. Mayes said. "Everyone has been really great to work with, and we are going to have construction crews on the job five days a week until the park is done so we can be ready to open for the 2009 season."
Splash Valley was initially announced in late 2007, with the groundbreaking ceremony held in January of this year. Mr. Mayes said the decision to postpone the park's opening until 2009 will allow time for upgrades to various aspects of the $15 million attraction.
"We originally had to scale back our wave pool," he said. "The extra time will allow us to go back to our original plan. The wave pool will now be the second largest in Tennessee. We also hope to add more parking."
The 15-acre site is across from Groome's Transportation on Ringgold Road, adjacent to Spring Creek and a small wetland. Numerous delays and record water shortages have caused some observers to express doubts over whether or not the project will be completed at all.
Mr. Mayes, who said concerns over drought were "not a factor" in the latest schedule revision, said public support for Splash Valley remains high.
"The people of East Ridge want to see this happen," Mr. Mayes said. "This has been carefully planned out, and we are committed to making it happen. Splash Valley will be completed in 2008 and open for business in 2009."
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