Sizable concerns over water park

When Heritage Harbour resident Patti Reid looks at a grassy field spotted with trees at the southwest corner of Interstate 75 and State Road 64, she sees parks and green space, what she believes are staples of thriving communities.

What she doesn’t envision, however, is a 20-acre water park, as proposed by developer Manatee Lost Lagoon. The entity is in negotiations with Manatee County to construct a regional water park facility there, within the boundaries of Tom Bennett Park. Its newest proposal includes the addition of a hotel on the property.

Reid is a member of the newly formed group, Save Tom Bennett Park, formed to oppose construction of the water park. Its first formal meeting June 26 drew nearly 40 people, and organizer Tim Petz, a River Strand resident, expects opposition will grow from within his communities and surrounding ones.

Residents are worried about a plethora of infrastructure-related issues, but also feel 20 acres is not sufficient for creating a viable project.

“A smaller park like what is being proposed in Manatee cannot compete with Adventure Island (Tampa), Typhonn Lagoon (Disney World Resort), Blizzard Beach (Disney World Resort) or the newly announced Volcano Bay (Orlando),” Petz said. “Why do you think that the developer of Lost Lagoon wants a hotel and already is expanding its footprint? Because they know that it is impossible to make money with a small water park.”

Reid said successful water parks usually are adjacent to other large-scale attractions.

“We’re expecting people to come to a 20-acre park when they can go to Orlando or Fort Lauderdale or Tampa?” she said. “People don’t want to go to just a water park.”

William Gridley, a spokesman for the Lost Lagoon project, said the park’s size is not a problem.

 “There are several other successful water parks with approximately this size footprint currently operating in the U.S.,” Gridley said. “When designing a park like Lost Lagoon, it’s not about the size, it’s about building an immersive experience for our guests. You could have the same number of slides and attractions in a space twice as large, and it wouldn’t change the depth of the experience.

“The hotel makes it even more viable. It gives people an opportunity to stay longer.”

By comparison, Busch Garden’s Adventure Island water park sits on 30 acres, which excludes the parking lot. Sea World’s Aquatica water park is about 59 acres.

Reid said both parks are attached to larger world-class tourist destinations. They are not standalone attractions.

On a smaller scale, Collier County operates the Sun-N-Fun Lagoon water park on only three acres in Naples. Open for 10 years, it offers water slides, a lazy river and children’s pools.

County spokesman Daniel Christenbury said the park at least “breaks even” annually and even profited $250,000 last year because of good weather.

“We likely won’t match that profit this year,” he said. “The operating budget for SNF is $1.559 million.”

Although local residents worry the size is an issue, Manatee County Chief Assistant Attorney Rob Eschenfelder said as water park negotiations continue, Manatee Lost Lagoon will bear the burden of proving its operation will be operationally and financially viable.

The purpose of a request for proposals is to seek a detailed proposal for how a business would provide a service the county is considering. 

“It is a tool to allow for an assessment of what opportunities there may be, in this case, to allow the subject land to be utilized for a recreational purpose different than its current use,” Eschenfelder said.

Deputy County Administrator Dan Schlandt agreed.

“We want to determine it is (viable), but we can’t until we get the negotiation of exactly what it will be and what the business terms are. It’s a little hard to tell that at this point,” he said. “The overall question about a park that size is ‘Can it be viable?’ I think it can ... There will be a lot of due diligence.”

Lost Lagoon’s proposal was supposed to be made public July 1, but Manatee County postponed its release after Lost Lagoon requested it be kept private. The county released the documents on Tuesday.

 Lost Lagoon spokesman Bill Gridley said protecting company financials, particularly within the competitive hospitality industry, is a “trade-industry standard.”

The company’s original bid, which excluded the hotel, estimated a $30 million total for construction.