Cape Splash saw its most successful season this year

While city officials still are waiting for final receipts, preliminary reports show 2015 was Cape Splash Family Aquatic Center's most successful year.

New racing slides completed in July were a shot in the arm for Cape Girardeau's water park, contributing to a boost in attendance and concessions sales.

The early numbers released by the city show data such as attendance by age and revenue generated from concessions, retail and admission, but only from the time the slides opened to the park's final day of operation.

Aquatics supervisor Patrick Watson said the final numbers will be complete after the city receives all its final receipts.

Even without the final report, the success of the most recent season is obvious. Stack the numbers up against those for 2010 -- the park's opening year and previously its most successful year -- and the boon is easy to see.

"That was our biggest year as far as attendance and stuff like that goes, until this year," Watson said. "That was the first season that we were open was in 2010, and this, our sixth season, was our largest year. I believe that's attributed to fairly decent weather conditions overall, as well as the speed slides and the mat racer."

From July 9 through Sept. 7, nearly 51,000 adults and children came to the park, compared to 40,456 people who visited during the same period in 2010.

Breaking it down by age group, the biggest increase occurred in the category of children 13 and younger. Attendance grew by nearly 6,400.

The 14 and older category saw a boost of more than 5,300.

Before the opening of the slides, the park had hosted more than 431,000 visitors, according to city numbers.

There were plenty of indicators 2015 would be quite the year for Cape Splash. On opening day alone, as city staff stood at the foot of the slides, lines for the new attractions began to grow quickly.

Whether it was the three-lane mat racer or one of the two drop slides, parents and children alike were eager to take a trip down the colorful slides they had waited so long to experience.

The first weekend after the opening saw the park's biggest day ever, outpacing the record held since 2010.

The new record was broken quickly the following weekend. July 18 still holds the record for highest attendance at 3,050.

The parks and recreation department hoped the opening of the new slides would coincide with the water park's in May, but wet weather intervened. Parks and recreation director Julia Thompson called the weeks filled with rain and muddy conditions "challenging times" as the department was forced to delay the opening.

As much as the department would have liked to have seen an earlier opening day, Watson said uncooperative weather is a factor they've learned to accept in such outdoor projects.

"I don't think there's any doubt had they opened up a few weeks earlier, our overall numbers and revenue definitely would have been up," he said. "But I think for the two months that we did have it open -- while we still had our pool season going -- I think that did line up fairly well with what I was expecting."

Indeed, the park's success went beyond increased attendance. Revenue from locker rentals, retail sales, admission and concessions from July 9 through Sept. 7 totaled $280,049. That's nearly $135,000 more than the revenue reported for the same time in 2010.

Each area of revenue saw growth, although a comparison of retail sales is not possible because the park did not carry retail items in its first season.

Watson said the city's expectations were "definitely met," and he expects the visitors were pretty satisfied as well. He spent a lot of time on site at Cape Splash this summer and said plenty of people seemed to enjoy the competitive spirit of the mat racer and the thrill of the drop slides.

"Our attendance difference reflects that obviously there was a demand for an element that would appeal to an older, more mature group and the teenage crowd as well," he said. "I think it definitely met expectations, and that amenity had a very positive impact, both on the community and the facility as well."

Providing entertainment for the underserved demographic of older children and teenagers was just one benefit. The opening of the new slides also meant hiring new employees, growing beyond the more than 170 employees hired the previous season to handle lifeguard, management, concessions, admission and maintenance duties.

It takes a team just to operate the slides, keeping the line in order, making sure everyone meets the height requirement of each slide and standing at the bottom of the flume to give the all-clear for the next wave of riders.

"With the new feature, it did require additional staffing members on any given time," Watson said. "We also did bring in some additional customer-service workers in the concession stand and admission as well to help things flow as best as possible with the very large crowds we had."

The full season's numbers and a six-year comparison report are expected to be available later this month.

srinehart@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641

Pertinent address:

1625 N. Kingshighway, Cape Girardeau, Mo.