Photo Credit: Waters Edge Aquatic Design
The Western Kansas town of Dodge City—made famous as a frontier settlement of the Old West and infamous for gunslingers, saloons, brothels, and gambling halls—has added a new tourism gem: a western/prairie-themed water park. The Long Branch Lagoon Waterpark, settled in Wright Park and the downtown Heritage District, celebrates its rich western roots with exciting features and authentic theming elements throughout the park’s design. From its grand opening in summer 2016, it quickly became a regional tourist destination, giving community members and visitors a place to cool off during the hot and windy Kansas summers on the prairie.
The History Of Long Branch Lagoon
The start of the project can be traced to 2001 when community members first proposed the idea of renovating the city’s existing facility, which was undersized, outdated, and suffering dwindling attendance numbers. Throughout the next decade numerous funding efforts supporting aquatic improvements failed, until 2013 when city council and county commissions backed a Community Aquatics Task Force-proposed “Why Not Dodge” initiative. A new waterpark was budgeted by a one-cent city and county sales-tax increase designated to grow the tourism economy.
Long Branch Lagoon, a $12.3-million facility, was a major part of the $45-million, downtown redevelopment program that helped transform Dodge City into a major parks and recreation hub in the heart of the Midwest. To date, other projects that are a part of the “Why Not Dodge” program include Legends Park, a premier four-diamond baseball/softball complex and Cavalier Field Baseball Field, Dodge City Raceway Park, a motor sports facility, and United Wireless Arena and Boot Hill Casino Conference Center.