Staff shortage forces Cape Splash to close early

Cape Splash Family Aquatic Center will shutter operations early this year, citing staff shortages.

The waterpark located at the Osage Centre in Cape Girardeau has a traditional season running from May through Labor Day, open only on weekends the last few weeks. It will forgo the last two weekends of operation because of a lack of lifeguards, said Robert Shanahan, aquatics supervisor for the city. As an alternative, Central Municipal Pool will be open for recreation swimming from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday the next two weekends. The pool will also be open from 1 to 4 p.m. Labor Day, Sept. 5. Those with a season pass for Cape Splash will be able to use it to get into Central Pool.

Shanahan said the waterpark needs 25 lifeguards to be operational and with school beginning, its lifeguard ranks were significantly depleted.

The majority of the lifeguards for Cape Splash are high school or college students who work on summer break. The start of the school year meant many had little to no availability to work the last two weekends.

Shanahan said it's something the waterpark deals with every summer, but that in the past year or two, more of the high school graduates are attending colleges that take them out of town or out of state. The exodus of many lifeguards, coupled with the nationwide lifeguard shortage the American Lifeguard Association said affected one-third of public pools, forced those responsible for running Cape Splash to make the tough decision.

The aquatics supervisor said he expects the closure to impact season numbers for attendance and revenue but not in a significant way.

"Usually this weekend and Labor Day weekend are some of the slowest weekends of the year, as far as attendance-wise and revenue-wise," Shanahan said.

The peak weekends are normally in June and July, and generally attendance begins to decrease in August, he added.

In 2021, Cape Splash exceeded pre-COVID-19 numbers, drawing in 58,290 admissions in 86 days of operation. In an interview with the Missourian in October, Penny Williams, recreation division manager, said the waterpark had a "challenge" finishing out Labor Day weekend of that season because of a staffing shortage.

Despite the closure, the Doggy Swim Day at the waterpark Sept. 24 is still on. Individuals interested may register at www.cityofcapegirardeau.org.