If you’re ready to swim, local pools are opening as soon as this weekend.
At the Franklin Family Aquatic Center workers have been vacuuming the pool, which is already filled with water, working on landscaping and cleaning the facilities as they get ready for opening day on Saturday. The water park will be open Saturday and Sunday and then re-open again May 26.
At Freedom Springs Aquatic Center in Greenwood, the off-season has been spent on several improvements, including a new water slide and large umbrellas for visitors to relax under. Additional parking spaces will provide room when the park is at its busiest on hot summer days.
Freedom Springs is set to open May 26. Both pools will remain open through Labor Day.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
The city-run water parks set records for attendance and revenue last year. Freedom Springs had an attendance of more than 100,000, as the number of visitors has grown every year since it opened in 2015. The Franklin Family Aquatic Center, which also had an increase in attendance over that time, had its highest revenue total ever of $300,000 last year.
Weather is the largest factor in how well outdoor aquatic facilities do, and the hope is for lots of hot summer days, especially in August, said Kendall Paris, the Franklin aquatics director.
When temperatures hover around 85 degrees is when Freedom Springs has been the busiest, said Rob Taggart, Greenwood’s parks and recreation director. The preliminary forecast calls for a high of 84 degrees on May 26, which would be a great way to start the season, he said.
Water in the leisure pool has already heated up to 75 degrees, Taggart said.
Franklin is in the process of saving up for larger projects at the water park in coming years, so visitors won’t notice any changes or additions this year, Paris said.
But swimmers will get to jump in the water an hour early during the second half of the season, she said.
Traditionally, the pool opening time would change from 11 a.m. to noon after Franklin schools begin classes around the start of August, but the pool will now keep the 11 a.m. start time at the end of the season, Paris said.
The goal is to avoid confusing people and to still give parents of younger kids time to bring their children to the pool ahead of the afternoon rush, she said.
At Freedom Springs, another busy season has led to several improvements that are in the final stages of completion before the pool opening.
The parking lot at Freedom Springs is being expanded by 65 spaces from 418 to 483 spots, a $90,000 project that officials said was necessary. On busy days, drivers would end up parking in the grass or along streets once the parking lot filled up, Taggart said.
Other improvements at the water park since last season are the addition of a 17-foot drop slide next to the lap pool and five, 20-foot diameter umbrellas throughout the water park.
With all of the improvements in place, the goal is to surpass the attendance of 100,000 from last year, Taggart said.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”At a glance” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Franklin Family Aquatic Center
Location: 396 Branigin Blvd.
Hours: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week, opening Saturday
Daily Admission
- Adult: $5
- Child/Senior: $4
- Infant: $2
- Military: $4
Season Passes: $60
Freedom Springs Greenwood Aquatics Center
Location: Freedom Park, 850 Stop 18 Road
Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, open until 9 p.m. on Thursday nights; noon to 6 p.m. Sunday, opening May 26
Daily Admission
- Resident adult: $8
- Resident child/senior: $6
- Military: $6
- Non-resident adult: $10
- Non-resident child/senior: $8
- Infant: Free
Season Passes
- Resident: $65
- Non-resident:$85
[sc:pullout-text-end]
