A waterpark in the city is set to get a multi-million-dollar refresh, even as several pools in Dallas are on the chopping block over budgetary constraints.
The Coconut Cove play structure at Bahama Beach Waterpark in southern Dallas will be replaced following the Dallas City Council’s approval of a contract of up to $2,504,498 with Krastman Commercial Playgrounds and Water Parks.
The Dallas Park and Recreation Department-owned waterpark, located at 1895 Campfire Circle, ten minutes south of downtown Dallas, will receive approximately $1.6 million in funding for the project from the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant Disaster Redelivery Fund. Those funds were created to support recovery from the 2021 winter storm. The remaining roughly $900,000 will come from the Parkland Dedication Program Fund.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development disaster recovery funding was first awarded to the city in 2022; however, the total was later amended in 2023. The Dallas Park and Recreation Board approved the waterpark overhaul on September 4.
Bahama Beach currently boasts several attractions, including:
- Bermuda Triangle, a tropical-colored group of body slides.
- Boomergango, a near-vertical wall that gives riders a sense of weightlessness.
- Calypso Cooler, a lazy river that takes you around the park’s island.
- Lil Paco’s Splash Pad, a 0’ splash play area designed for younger guests of the mark.
- Riptide Slide & Bahama Bullet, two enclosed, high-speed, inner tube slides that start atop a 45-foot tower.
- The Lagoon, a pool with waterfalls and plenty of shade.
- Tortuga Express, a 300-foot, four-lane mat racing slide.
- Coconut Cove, an interactive water rain fortress playground with water buckets, geysers, rope ladders, and more.
It is the last attraction, Coconut Cove, that will be removed to make way for a new Vortex Elevation system with 16 decks, 55 interactive water features, half a dozen waterslides, and three super splash dump features.
The approved project comes at a time when budget constraints have pushed City officials to consider whether to maintain the operations of nine community pools in Dallas. Three of the pools, Grauwyler, Walnut Hill, and Glendale, have been highlighted as the most likely candidates for closure as part of a recommendation by the Dallas Park and Recreation Board.