Residents still have time to shop for new bathing suits for East Lansing’s Aquatic Center after cooler-than-usual weather pushed back its grand opening.
The center, 6400 Abbott Road, was approved by residents in November 1998 as part of a $3.5 million bond.
The park was supposed to open Saturday, but weather is expected to be in the 60s with scattered showers, and chemical balancing of the pools still needs to be completed.
The new opening is scheduled for 5 p.m. May 31.
The park will have two water slides - one a 190-foot tube slide and the other a 140-foot body slide. There will also be a lap pool with a diving board, zero-depth entry with various interactive play structures, a play structure and a sand play area for children, said Tim McCaffrey, director of Parks and Recreation Facilities for East Lansing.
“The water play structure has four or five geysers, a frog slide for the children,” he said.
Family and community services senior Tamara Chaumley said she will definitely bring her family to the park this summer.
“I think it is in a very good area,” she said. “Youth will benefit from it and have more activities to do in the summer.”
She also said it will do well in East Lansing because there are no other water parks nearby for people to go to.
Some residents have expressed concern with the location of the park, just north of Lake Lansing Road, saying that it will bother people living in surrounding neighborhoods.
But McCaffrey said the location of the park should not be a problem to residents.
“We’ve listened to some of the concerns residents had,” he said. “And they are closer to the softball complex than they are to the Aquatic Center.”
He also said the hours of the park - 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. - are at a time when neighbors would not be disturbed.
The prices of the park are $5 for East Lansing residents and $6 for nonresidents on weekdays, and $6 for residents and $7 for nonresidents on weekends. A season pass can be bought for $90 for the first family member and $50 for each additional member, and a 10-visit pass can be purchased for $40.
“I think folks are going to think it is a wonderful facility after they have the chance to experience it,” McCaffrey said.
State News staff writer Audrey Barney contributed to this report.
