Local News
Collier looks at TDC funds, outside operator to help water park
26 July 2024
As Sun-N-Fun Lagoon undergoes major renovations and repairs, Collier County officials are considering turning over management of the county’s top water park to a private firm, and possibly using tourist development taxes for repairs and renovations. After a heated debate, the Tourist Development Council on July 16 unanimously recommended that the county spend no more than $50,000 in tourist development taxes in conducting an independent analysis to determine whether Sun-N-Fun is a tourism draw. State statutes decree the use of tourist development taxes and uses must benefit tourism, so an analysis is required. The final decision is up to the Board of County Commissioners. “The study will evaluate the tourism benefits of the water park, supporting future TDC grant requests for capital infrastructure, operating expenses and, perhaps most importantly, promotion of both the facility and the destination,” Deputy County Manager Ed Finn told the TDC, adding that Sun-N-Fun draws more than 90,000 unique visitors, including more than 50,000 people during season, October through May. “It’s our hope that with appropriate marketing, some adjustments to the facility, perhaps greater signage and sponsorship at the facility, we can actually turn this into an even larger tourism draw,” Finn added. Summer without Sun-N-Fun Sun-N-Fun, located within North Collier Regional Park at 15000 Livingston Road in North Naples, has been closed since October due to aging pumps and other equipment. County officials expect an early 2025 reopening. The 6.1-acre water park features four pools, five water slides, a lazy river, an interactive lighted splash pad, water-dumping buckets and water pistols. After 18 years of operations, it was ready for renovations, electrical upgrades, repairs and replacements of slides, old motors and pumps. Parks & Recreation staff planned to open Sun-N-Fun this summer, but an engineer’s assessment found years of chlorine had rusted braces and bolts on slides; drains, aging pumps and motors needed to be replaced; the filtration was a problem—and not the only one. Massive leaks in the interactive water feature were causing 10,000 gallons of water loss daily. A lack of bidders for projects was among the reasons the park’s opening has been delayed. For now, county staffers are directing people to the county’s newest aquatics park, Big Corkscrew Island Regional Park, and four other county parks with aquatics centers: Donna Fiala Eagle Lakes Park, Golden Gate Community Park, Vineyards Community Park and Immokalee Sports Complex. Once Sun-N-Fun reopens, with improved equipment and technology, Interim Parks & Rec Director James Hanrahan has said it will face competition from Great Wolf Lodge, which plans to open its 90,000-square-foot, air-conditioned, indoor water park in September. Starting in early 2025, Great Wolf Lodge will offer water-park day passes for $60 or as high as $120 on weekends, and no charge for children 2 and under. In comparison, Sun-N-F...