At a committee meeting yesterday council was presented with concept images for the theming of the aquatics portion of the building. (The Daily Herald has a story on the committee meeting here.)
We approved going ahead with just under $900,000 worth of dinosaur related theming elements. It's always been a part of the plan to include a theme in the aquatics centre (the $900,000 has been in the project budget since the beginning). I think this is important because it will set the stage for the multiplex, and the aquatics centre in particular, to become a "can't miss" attraction in the city.
The reason it's dinos is to tie in to a local element - the Pipestone Creek dinosaur bone bed and the future River of Death & Discovery dinosaur museum. The vision, or my vision anyhow, is that when both facilities are up and running our area will have a highly marketable tourism attraction: "Go to the Museum and Don't Forget to Visit the Waterpark!" It might sound far-fetched today but with a little planning & coordination that might just be something that attracts people to the area and keeps them here a few days longer- all the while contributing to the local economy.
The quality of the images below is only kind of so-so because they're scanned from the hard copy. You can click each picture for a larger view which might be a bit easier to see. Anyhow, let's get on to the pictures:
As you come out of the change rooms you exit through rock walls over grown with vines and embedded with fossils. There are pterodactyls in the air overhead. 
Right in front of you is the children's pool and the spray deck. You can climb up in to the tree-top to be under the big dumping bucket with giant dragonflies around you. 
Around the back of the tree-top water feature are the stairs which go right through huge dino bones sticking out of the ground. 
A little further along is the chance to ride a pre-historic wave on the flowrider. (council agreed to remove the dino from the top of the rocks to keep the theming within budget.) 
Way across to the north end of the building is the tower that leads up to the start of the waterslides. As you speed down the bodyslide you come splashing out of the mouth of a T-Rex. 
If you come down the tubeslide you end up in the adventure river where the current takes you through a mountain and around the river island. 
The view riding along the river is pretty exciting. 
While the kids are off doing all this the adults might decide to relax in the hot-tub and listen as a waterfall tumbles down from a rock outcropping. (Council voted to remove the large dino on top of the rocks, as well as the palm trees. The thinking is that, while this are should be consistent with the theme, adults will enjoy the area without needing as many features as in the youth oriented areas.)
This final image is an example of the work from Studio Y Creations who will be doing the theming. They have done work for the Tyrrell Museum and will have no problem making dinos that look realistic. I'm going to make sure that at least one of the beasts lumbering in the building is an authentic looking local.
5 comments:
This is a fantastic idea!! Kids young and old can enjoy!
The hoodoos around the wave-rider seem a little out of place for GP or Pipestone. It's more of a Drumheller feature.
Think of it as a Keluskin Hills look!
Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!
Nice concept Bill. I would be wary of the potential of creating something that will seem tacky and dated in only a few years. Timeless set ups tend to work better and cost less in the long run.
But it's hard to say with just the basic pictures as well.
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