If you see swimmers flying through the air at the East Lansing Family Aquatic Center, don’t be alarmed.
The park, located at 6400 Abbott Road, after inspection, could debut its fourth slide Friday.
Called a “drop slide,” users will scale up a nearly 12-foot ladder before coasting down the 16-foot slide into the 12-foot deep pool. Thrill-seekers also will travel through 4 feet of air before hitting the water.
The slide is currently being checked against safety standards by state officials.
Dorinda VanKempen, a former member of the East Lansing Family Aquatic Center planning committee, has been looking forward to the slide since the park opened last summer.
“We couldn’t build it with the original budget, but we could with the profits from last year,” VanKempen said.
The drop slide first came up for discussion in 2000 and VanKempen said the project initially looked as though it would go nowhere. The East Lansing City Council voted against adding the slide because of budget concerns.
But after attracting 81,000 visitors last season, which generated around a $65,000 profit, the center can now afford the $40,000 slide.
About 1,100-1,200 people venture to the park daily from Memorial Day through Labor Day. The 50,000 square-foot facility has a maximum capacity of 1,400 people and has a 15,000 square-foot pool.
“It’s pretty busy there anyway,” a park lifeguard and kinesiology senior Ben Mutnick said. “It may not attract more people, but it won’t take away people. Plus, people always like something new.”
Parkgoers can already choose to jet down a 200-foot tube slide, a 121-foot body slide or a children’s slide shaped like a frog.
Fred Bauries, an East Lansing planning commissioner, goes to the center with his three grandchildren and thinks the new slide will not only be fun for him, but also for teenagers.
“It’s new and I’ve been looking forward to it since the aquatic center opened,” Bauries said. “I enjoy thrill rides and here’s a local one.”
But not everybody will make the new structure their slide of choice. VanKempen attends the park about once every two weeks with a friend, but said she likes the old slides.
“I plan on trying it,” VanKempen said. “I’ll probably like the other slides better - they’re a little more sedate. But I think the kids will like it.”
Tim McCaffrey, East Lansing Parks & Recreation Facilities director, agrees.
“The drop slide, I think, is particularly attractive to the teenagers,” he said. “It’s a little bit more of an exciting ride to be able to drop 4 feet into the water.”
