‘A wave of mixed emotions’: Wheeling water park coming down to make way for new one

The giant water pail that drenched countless squealing kids at the Wheeling Park District’s Family Aquatic Center has tipped over for the last time.

The 300-gallon, red bucket and the rest of the multicolored Tsunami Splash play area came down Wednesday. Demolition of the entire aquatic center at 105 Community Blvd. began last month.

Once the land is cleared, a new aquatic center will be built on the same site.

“It feels bittersweet,” park district Executive Director Jan Buchs said in an email. “It's like saying goodbye while knowing something new and exciting is already on its way.”

A 16,500-square-foot swimming pool, a smaller pool just for adults, a play structure, two body slides and a drop slide are planned for the new aquatic center. So are a bath house, a concession area, party shelters and a space for cabanas.

Construction is expected to start in May. The work should be done in spring or summer 2027.

The project will cost about $32 million. Funding will come from district reserves.

The original Family Aquatic Center opened in 1993. It’s believed to have been one of the first publicly owned water parks in the suburbs.

Tsunami Splash came later, in 2002. Its demolition Wednesday took no more than half an hour.

The demolition “brings a wave of mixed emotions,” Buchs said.

“While the physical structures are coming down, what really stands out are the memories tied to them — generations of families and friends who had fun and made the most of more than 30 summers there,” she said.

Some materials from the old park, such as concrete decking, will be recycled and used in the new one, officials said.

· Daily Herald Staff Writer Paul Valade contributed to this report.