Cape Splash per-day attendance falls 1.3 percent; season still deemed successful

The waterspouts have been turned off and the "funbrellas" closed: Cape Splash Family Aquatic Center ended its seventh season earlier this month, after 78,060 people walked through its gates.

"We've had a busy year," Patrick Watson, aquatic supervisor for the Cape Girardeau Parks & Recreation Department, said.

From a numbers standpoint, attendance was slightly down from last year. In 2015, when the new slides were introduced, 85,495 visitors came to the park.

Penny Williams, Recreation Division Manager for the Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department, is not concerned. The lower attendance, she said, is because of a shortened season.

The Cape Splash season typically begins with Memorial Day weekend. Last year, the park opened May 23. This year, it opened May 28.

Blake Wade takes the lead over Aaron Wade on the Mat Racer on Sept. 5 at Cape Splash.Fred Lynch

"We lost a weekend," Williams said. "And those weekends are critical for us, because those are our highest attendance days."

Local schools also started earlier this year, which caused the park to move to reduced hours earlier than it did in 2015, "so we lost some days on the back end," Williams said.

So attendance dropped 8.7 percent from last year, but the season was 7.5 percent shorter. Williams said those issues are directly related.

"The numbers are lower, but it's because the number of days of operation are lower too," Williams said.

Ultimately, Williams said, she's pleased with the numbers. In 2015, Cape Splash had its highest attendance since opening in 2010. It was mid-season in 2015 the park's five-flume speed slide was introduced. The structures were installed using $1.27 million from the city's 1 percent restaurant tax. The speed slides were touted by the parks and recreation department as a way to appeal to older children, and Watson credits them for 2015's strong showing.

Official expectations were 2016 attendance would be as strong, because the slides were available all season.

"The slide did get a lot of exposure last year, so we were hoping to keep those numbers the same as last year," Williams said. "And when you run the average daily attendance, it looks like it held pretty true."

A daily average of 907.6 visitors came to the water park in 2016, compared to 919.3 -- a difference of 1.3 percent.

"With the new amenity, we didn't lose the enthusiasm every day for coming," Williams said.

Though lower than 2015, attendance at Cape Splash in 2016 still is higher than other seasons after the inaugural opening. In 2014, for example, the park welcomed 70,000 guests.

With the completion of the slides, phase 1 of the plan to expand Cape Splash is complete, the parks and recreation department is preparing to move on to phase 2, which includes "additional deck space, a small pirate ship play feature, and a small pavilion" on the island in the middle of the Lazy River, Watson said.

Parks and Recreation director Julia Thompson told the Southeast Missourian in June the improvements would cost an estimated $750,000 and eliminate an issue of mowing the difficult-to-access area and increase daily capacity at Cape Splash by 100 to 200 people. Today, the Cape Girardeau City Council will vote on the updated contracts needed to proceed with the project.

Though the season has ended, there is another event planned on the grounds of Cape Splash before it closes for the year.

Doggie Swim Day will take place from 4 to 6 p.m. Sept. 25. Admission is $5 per dog, and proceeds will benefit the Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Foundation. Watson said the event raises an average of $800 to $1,200 for parks projects that otherwise might be overlooked.

bbrown@semissourian.com

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1625 N. Kingshighway, Cape Girardeau, Mo.