Group to help fund water park study

Shoals Public Park Authority members Monday voted to provide up to $10,000 to help fund a feasibility study for a Wisconsin Dells-style indoor water park at Florence's Veterans Park.

The money would be used in conjunction with about $40,000 that is being provided by developer Roger Brown, owner of Doublehead Resort and a partner of Nashville, Tenn.-based Centrum Properties, authority member Rex Burleson said.

Burleson said Hotel and Leisure Advisors would be conducting the study, which will take about 60 days to complete.

Shoals Chamber of Commerce President Steve Holt said the company might not get started until after the holidays.

The study will determine if an indoor water park would be a good fit for the 83-acre park on the Tennessee River. The park remains home to a veterans memorial, RV camping sites, ball fields, picnic shelters and an 18-hole disc golf course.

Holt said Hotel and Leisure Advisors have conducted more than 1,000 studies involving hotels, resorts and water parks. This recent study will also examine the market for such a venture and if it will fit the criteria set forth by the Tennessee Valley Authority.

The proposed indoor park was inspired by the water parks at Wisconsin Dells, Wisc., that include water slides, tubing and wading pools. Holt said he and several other local officials, including Burleson and Florence Mayor Bobby Irons, traveled to Wisconsin Dells. He said Wisconsin Dells has indoor parks ranging from 25,000 square feet to 125,000 square feet.

The attraction at Veterans Park is part of a local tourism investment from the Retirement Systems of Alabama that includes two Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail courses in Colbert County and a luxury hotel and convention center in Florence.

Telephone and e-mail messages to Brown were not returned Monday.

"The indoor water park has probably been one of the best ideas from a practical standpoint that we've had, but mostly because we've had a developer behind it," Irons said. "That gives it a lot more creed than the others we've looked for so far."

More than a year ago, Florence officials solicited possible suggestions for the tourism attraction that is hoped to draw people from a 150- to 200-mile radius for overnight stays and return visits.

After more than 30 proposals were examined, the indoor water park is the only one that has feasibility funding to back it, officials said.

City officials have said Florence would not be able to fund any feasibility study that could cost around $50,000.

"(The proposed indoor water park) only requires 20-25 acres of land, including parking," Irons said of the 83-acre park that overlooks the Tennessee River.

Jimmy Hughston, a Tuscumbia attorney representing the public park authority, said he is researching whether there would be any issues with the authority's money being used for what would be a private development.

Hughston said the $10,000 will come from the $2 million set aside for a Veterans Park attraction or from the interest it has generated in the past five years.

"Before anyone would move forward, a feasibility study would be required," Burleson said.

Holt said four companies responded to a request for proposals, and Brown selected Hotel and Leisure Advisors to perform the feasibility study.

Russ Corey can be reached at 740-5738 or russ.corey@TimesDaily.com.