Public to get look at new water park at ribbon-cutting Thursday

A ribbon-cutting ceremony at noon Thursday will offer residents a closer look at the $8.7 million Cape Splash Family Aquatic Center.

"People will be able to walk around and see what's there," said Dan Muser, director of the Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department.

The new aquatic complex is not scheduled to open until May 29. Its features include a 700-foot-long lazy river, four water slides, a six-lane lap pool and a landscaped picnic area.

While millions were spent on constructing the new aquatic center, there is no money set aside to be spent on advertising, Muser said.

"A whole lot of it is going to be word-of-mouth," Muser said. "We're on a shoestring budget."

City manager Scott Meyer is hoping Cape Girardeau's new aquatic center will have an opening as successful as the one in Farmington, Mo., did about 10 years ago.

"When it first opened, they had more people than they could hold," Meyer said. "They had an overwhelming response, and people were coming in from miles around because of word-of-mouth."

Meyer said marketing funds were not put into the aquatic center's operating budget, but funds could be shifted if needed in the future.

"If we get to where we see we're not doing well, we'll look at the budget and adjust."

Muser said he hopes to work out trade agreements with local media outlets as a way to do low-cost promotions as the park has in the past with other activities.

"I'm not sure how much of it will start out before we open," he said.

The Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau is also working to spread the word about Cape Splash.

The bureau will include information about the new facility on its website, www.visitcape.com, and in its 2010 Visitors Guide to be released June 20, said the bureau's executive director, Chuck Martin.

A total of 150,000 copies have been ordered and will be distributed at stops along Interstate 55, through direct mail and in more than 30 racks throughout the city.

"It helps us to expand our ability to draw people here," Martin said of the new aquatic center.

Martin's office has been focusing its marketing efforts on people who travel to see historic sites, but the addition of Cape Splash and the new Discovery Children's Playhouse may redefine the focus in the future.

"It allow us to more competitively market to families," Martin said.

Cape Splash is part of a $20 million park facilities plan that also included upgrades to the Arena Building, Osage Community Centre, Jaycee Municipal Golf Course and Shawnee Park.

mmiller@semissourian.com

388-3646

Pertinent address:

1565 N. Kingshighway, Cape Girardeau, MO