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A rendering of the Splash Island attraction at the Wet ‘n’ Wild Las Vegas water park.
Published Thursday, Oct. 4, 2012 | 1:40 p.m.
Updated Thursday, Oct. 4, 2012 | 7:20 p.m.
Andre Agassi speaks at a media event announcing new details of the Wet 'n Wild Las Vegas on Thursday, October 4, 2012.
When he was a teenager, Las Vegas tennis star Andre Agassi used to cool off at the Wet ‘n Wild water park on the Strip.
And, when he was older, he took the Davis Cup tennis team there for an evening celebration after a big victory.
The park, a family attraction for locals as well as tourists, was closed in 2004 when landowners where the attraction was located made plans for a casino resort that was never built.
Now, Agassi’s children and Las Vegans young and old will get to experience a new Wet ‘n Wild in Summerlin.
Representatives of Australian entertainment giant Village Roadshow Ltd. announced during a media event today that it is renaming the Splash Canyon Water Park as Wet ‘n' Wild Las Vegas. The water park will be run by a different company than the original Wet 'n Wild (note the apostrophes) but will offer many similar features.
The 41-acre park, which already is under construction on Fort Apache Road near the Las Vegas Beltway and Sunset Road, is scheduled to open on Memorial Day.
The announcement of the Wet ‘n' Wild brand should heat up a brewing water park rivalry in Southern Nevada. The developer of a park in Henderson said today that his company is partnering with the owners of Cowabunga Bay in suburban Salt Lake City to bring an attraction that will be the first of its kind in the world.
Agassi has vivid memories of his favorite attraction at the park.
“When they built that capsule on the top of Der Stuka and you’d get in, push the button and the floor would open up underneath you … that was really cool,” he said.
Der Stuka was a seven-story tower that abutted Las Vegas Boulevard on the western end of the lot just south of the Sahara. When the park’s owners installed the Bomb Bay, it introduced a new element of suspense on the ride. The floor gave way and the rider suddenly plummeted about 20 feet before falling into the groove of a slide that rocketed them another 50 feet into a pool below.
The $50 million new park will have 25 slides, including the Rattler, a steep, twisting coiled chute with high-banked curves that is part tube and part flume, giving riders the experience of being both inside and out. The park also will feature a wave pool, lazy river, water playground and toddler pool, as well as a seven-story speed slide and head-first mat racer.
The attraction will be built on land leased from the Howard Hughes Corp., and investors will include Agassi; his wife, Steffi Graf; Dr. Steven and Karen Thomas, members of the Thomas family of Thomas & Mack Center fame; and Roger and Scott Bulloch, of SPB Capital Partners.
Village Roadshow is a 51 percent owner in the project and will manage the park. The entertainment company manages theme parks and movie theaters and owns music and film production and distribution facilities. The company has produced 66 films that have earned $10 billion at the box office, including the updated “Ocean's Eleven” with George Clooney, and its two sequels.
The Melbourne, Australia-based company also operates Sea World and Warner Bros. Movie World parks, as well as Wet ‘n' Wild parks in Hawaii, Phoenix and the Gold Coast of Australia, one of that nation’s premier tourist destinations.
NBCUniversal, a separate company, owns and operates the Wet 'n Wild Emerald Pointe Water Park in Greensboro, N.C., and Wet 'n Wild Orlando, a part of the Universal Orlando Resort.
Roger Bulloch, co-founder and managing principal of SPB Partners, said one of the most appealing aspects of the project is that the company will be able to provide 300 to 500 summer jobs for youths. In addition to the seasonal employment, the project is providing more than 200 construction jobs.
Bulloch said the partners sought an experienced theme park developer to operate the Las Vegas project and was impressed with Village Roadshow’s credentials. When Tim Fisher, CEO of Village Roadshow Theme Parks, entered the picture, everything clicked.
“I’ve been blown away by the reception we’ve received here,” Fisher said after the announcement, which was made at the World Waterpark Association conference and trade show, attended by more than 1,500 people at the Paris Las Vegas. “It seems that Las Vegas residents are dying to have a water park again.”
Locals and tourists have long bemoaned that Las Vegas has no full-scale water park. Wet ‘n Wild shut down in 2004 after nearly 20 years in operation on the Strip. Although developers have floated proposals for a replacement, no projects have come to fruition.
Most notably, in 2006, a former Disney and Universal Studios executive announced plans for Las Vegas Wet, a $10 billion combination indoor water park, ski slope, casino and hotel. It was supposed to open on Las Vegas Boulevard south of Interstate 215, but the idea burst along with the economy.
Now, two parks are expected to open in different locations in May.
Shawn Hassett, the developer of a 22-acre water park at Galleria Drive and Gibson Road, has announced that the new park would be called Cowabunga Bay Las Vegas. The owners of Cowabunga Bay in Draper, Utah, also operate parks in California, Oregon and Washington.
Hassett said his company, Vegas Residential LLC, recently closed on the deal for the acreage and is in negotiations to acquire adjacent land for other park amenities. Ground is expected to broken on Cowabunga Bay Las Vegas within weeks, and Hassett said the park also expects a May opening.
Hassett said the park would feature an attraction that would be the first of its kind in the world. He said he couldn’t disclose details of the attraction, which is being designed and built by a Turkish company, Polin Waterparks and Pool Systems.
Polin had an exhibit at the water park trade show, but representatives of the company said they were still a few weeks away from announcing anything about the new attraction.
Hassett said the attraction hasn’t been named, but “it’s going to be a unique and thrilling ride.”
CORRECTION: Corrected to say that Der Stuka was south of the Sahara. | (October 5, 2012)
In the middle of a drought? Bright idea.
Graphic says it opened "Memorial Day 2012." Did I miss it?
Welcome back wet n wild. It's been too long. Can't wait!
No busing people in. No 2 for 1's and keep the price on the high side..ala Disney. If they start offering steep discounts and cheap season passes the clientele quality will drop thru the floor. Keep it upscale for an upscale area.
Now Tom....
If you want to play it that way, maybe we can just prop up a couple of slides in that lagoon mess in front of Treasure Island for the people that can't afford WnW.
I cant wait to get out to that side of town. I am going to load up the van and hang out in the parking lot all day sitting in the sun with my Coors. Hey TomD1228 can I hang out at your house afterwards, I promise my 1972 Dodge wont get in your way.
I say more water parks and less money for schools.
Girlygirl.....
Works for me
Xsignal...
Coors, no. Microbrew yes. Try Gordon Biersch Marzen. I'll buy.
I think its going to be great for vegas if done correctly, however you can't have a water park with out having a Flowrider.
Dude, this is totally sweet! I'll be buying my year long pass soon. can't wait to try both parks out. I think Vegas would do great with a major theme park like Knots berry Farm or Six Flags, I could see massive tourists going to these places for a day excursion. I know I would. Peace.
All I can say is, "about friggin time!" They need to have a electronic clock set high above the park like The old Wet n wild had with The Sahara. It also displayed the temperature if I remember correctly. Hopefully the season pass I bought for 2012 is still good! I'll make sure to rent a bus and help transport those who live out by D Street so that they can have a wild time with TomD1228. Group rates! Cause us working middle class folks need to have a good escape from the heat, too.
It is not the name, it was the location that made it successful. Basically it was on The Strip. Was close to the hotels that catered to the middle class working type folks and serviced the downtown corridor. THAT is why it was successful. Now it is 20 miles away from the strip. You can rename it whatever you like, will never be Wet N Wild.
Xtlman: The company's research indicates that 80 percent of those going to the park were locals. That surprised me, too!
This looks like a flash back to the 70's. Where are the NEW ideas? Like where Disney Florida has Chair Lifts to the Top of the Hills (Instead of these Ladders)? Or a Water Coaster? Or like Sea World's Florida NAUTICA where they Literally Incorporated " Swimming with The Fishes" Or Wet and Wild's Dark slide in Orlando? I see NOTHING Unique about this park that has not been around for Decades. I Do Hope the Owners realize that, or will Las Vegans be so Impressed by Anything that is thrown at them?
Also for our Blistering Summer Sun I see No adaptations for multiple canopies or will they expect you to shell out significant dollars for a private Cabana?
NEW ideas are not needed when you have no competition in the area. Remember that WW was "supposed" to open in 2012 so not sure if CB will really open in 2013. I LOVE Water parks and will buy a season pass to both parks. I for one hope the prices are kept family friendly. We already have enough "ultra exclusive" nonsense in Vegas. Oh you will need to shell out $$$ for the cabanas though.
To the editor of this page:
Please understand that this is a different band under a different company. The original Wet 'n Wild brand that was closed down in 2004 was owned and operated by the Wet 'n Wild company, only two parks of this company are still ran, one in Florida and one in N. Coraline. The new brand that will be opening here is Wet'n'Wild via Village Roadshow. It is a completely different brand and company than the Wet 'n Wild that was closed in 2004. Thank you. Please make this clear for the readers.
Damn Ive never seen so much negative people in my life.
<<No busing people in. No 2 for 1's and keep the price on the high side..ala Disney. If they start offering steep discounts and cheap season passes the clientele quality will drop thru the floor. Keep it upscale for an upscale area>>
Tom:
Shame on you!! I didn't think you were like that!
Can someone from the LVSun (or someone else) clarify the location of where the park is being built? My question is in regards to the dump off streets to the park. Are these going to be added/beefed up so that that these particular tributaries don't become a big traffic nightmare(although I suspect they could).
kptrojans: The street address is 7055 S. Fort Apache Road, Las Vegas 89148. Just south of Wilbur & Theresa Faiss Middle School.
Richard, thanks for that info. Any idea of Ft Apache, Sunset and may be Warm Springs will be beefed up to handle the add't traffic flow, and I guess for that matter, are the on/off ramps from Beltway ready to handle that add't traffic? One other questions, what has been the response from the neighbors in that area to the park being built and the prospect of more cars/traffic? Thanks for again for the info and the follow up.
kptrojans: We'll continue to follow up the story and try to answer those questions.
I am excited, and so happy it is away from the strip. Having Andre and Steffi involve is also a big plus. I am looking forward to season tickets.
As a native Las Vegan, I am super excited for this. I grew up with the original W-n-W, and although this is a different company, I am glad my son will have something, too. There is simply just not enough for kids to do out here. It gets so hot that a park in midday July just isn't fun. I'm not complaining about Vegas; for the most part I love our city. I was bummed when W-n-W closed and I was bummed when Scandia closed, too. We need more kid friendly things out here. And before I get attacked, yes I realize our nick name is "Sin City" but that's not ALL Vegas is.... There's so much greatness about Vegas, even without the sin... (Although that part can be quite fun, too!)
bobthebuilder....."I remember the kind of dirtbags that frequented the W&W on the strip.." How do you know what type of "dirtbags..frequented" the old park? Were you there often enough to make such a determination. If so, wouldn't that make YOU one of said "dirtbags?" If not then doesn't that make you nothing more than a bitter man eager to spread misery wherever he goes? So bob, tell which are you a dirtbag or just bitter?
Just another thing to save for my family of five for the up and coming summer of season pass fun.
One thing I was reminded of as a kid, I use to ride the bus to go to Wet N Wild. Will there be RTC Bus Line stops, that now are nonexistent, for its new location? Not all kids have transport to the suburbs.
This is a good thing, guys! My family and I were always trying to find more ways to cool off during the 100 degree temperatures. As a local, I'll bet that most of you have or at least considered sneaking into a Casino or apartment pool just to have a few hours of fun with family and friends. It should not be that way.
This is Las Vegas, people. As a community, we need to watch out for each other and let the world know that we're more than just casinos and conventions! We have families and need to provide safe, enjoyable environments for our children without having to break the law by trespassing into the Stratosphere's pool. I mean really, who likes swimming with drunk, loud, obnoxious 20 something's visiting from across the country?
Big thanks to Mr. Agassi and his family. I remember going to the original Wet 'n Wild from 1990 until it closed in 2004 (and they jacked up the prices at the very end, too). I'm 31 now with a wife and 6 year old son and you know what, this is amazing news.
As far as traffic goes, I live on Blue Diamond and Ft. Apache so uh, yea, that doesn't concern me as much, but I do feel for the people living near the new structure, but hopefully they thought about ways to mitigate the possibility of more traffic with easy access routes and exits "away" from communities. We'll just have to wait and see.
Another poster commented on W n W being mostly a tourist attraction. Please, have you even left your house during the hot summer months? I love my house but I'd rather be out getting some sun and staying cool, checking out the hotties (goes for the ladies too,) and relaxing at the wave pool on my chair. I'll take 3 season passes!
Please can you tell me who made the render for wet'n'wild?
it is about time they make a water park in a place where it gets to be 110 degrees
I know we are in a drought but they just keep filtering the water threw the park it is not like they are wasting any thing and when it evaporates it just rains back down.