By Angel RiggsTimes Record News

Castaway Cove Waterpark, the city's first water theme park, will dive into the local entertainment and economic pool next week - and it's predicted to make a big splash.

Workers will plunge into the $5.5 million construction project after a groundbreaking ceremony scheduled for 9 a.m. July 29. The park is planning to open on Memorial Day 2004. Wichita Falls' first water park, at Highway 287 and Windthorst Road, promises more than the average cement pond.

The 15-acre park will feature a wave of rides and attractions, including a 560-foot-long "water coaster," a pavilion overlooking the Wichita Falls' skyline, a lazy river and a children's area - complete with a "frog slide...and a little squirting whale," said the project's architect Michael Koen, of Wichita Falls-based Michael E. Koen Architect Inc. Koen is mainly working to design the park's buildings.

Wichita Falls physician Louis Wilson, general partner of Brook Associates Ltd., says the park will "improve tourist spending, which is something we desperately need."

The father of four who says he loves water parks and swimming is leading 22 private investors in raising funds to build the park.

"I thought we needed a water park," he said. Wilson paid for a feasibility study himself, and began recruiting donors.

"All of my investors are either friends, or other doctors," he said, adding that 80 percent of them are from Wichita Falls.

Developers are hopeful that the project might qualify for city tax credits or tax abatement because of the jobs and tourism it will create, said Taryn Carter, the park's marketing director.

In fact, the owners expect the park will employ 5 year-round executives and 120 seasonal employees, which is the equivalent of roughly 50 full-time positions, she said.

City funds "would help tremendously," she said. "With a privately funded park, you do have more budget constraints."

The park is expected to bring in an estimated 100,000 to 125,000 guests in its first year, with roughly 20 percent of them from outside Wichita Falls, Wilson said.

He said the park's total economic impact for the city is estimated at about $2 million.

"The impact will be to bring visitors to Wichita Falls who will stay longer in hotels, they will eat in our restaurants and shop in our shops," he said.

Tim Chase, president of the Wichita Falls Board of Commerce & Industry, said the location is ideal for a water park.

"Not only will this be a great facility for local kids of all ages to enjoy, but the tourism it generates will be a fantastic addition to the local economy," he said. "Dollars spent here by visitors increase the size and health of our local economy, which benefits everyone."

NBGS International, developers of New Braunfels, Texas,-based Schlitterbahn Waterparks & Resorts International, will help design the project, Wilson said.

Construction of the park will employ mostly local contractors and labor. However, a specialty pool builder out of Washington, D.C., will build the park's swimming pools, he said.

In addition to the tropical paradise-themed pools and slides, Castaway Cove's plans include educational children's programs exposing kids to tropical birds, Carter said. The natural landscaping will provide touring opportunities for gardening clubs, she added.

A pavilion will be available for large groups.

"We feel like we have the best site in the city," Koen said. "It's up high on the hill, and has a complete view of the downtown skyline from a large pavilion on the northwest side of the park."

Business reporter Angel Riggs can be reached at (940) 763-7536, or with e-mail at riggsa@TtimesRecordNews.com.

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Reprinted from the Wichita Falls Times Record News.