FORT SMITH (KFSM) — Plans were unveiled Thursday night for an expansion of a Fort Smith water park.
The plans for an expansion of Parrot Island Water Park at Ben Geren Park were revealed during a joint meeting Thursday night (Oct. 18) between the Fort Smith City Directors and the Sebastian County Quorum Court.
"We're proposing, coming into the fifth summer of Parrot Island, that we would add a surf simulator, which has become popular across the country, [on] cruise ships, it's an Olympic sport in 2020," said Richard Coleman, of American Resort Management. "Then we would take one of our body slides and convert that into a tube slide.
"So we think, with a surf simulator and body slide, Parrot Island will bring back many new faces or attract people who haven't been there in a couple of years."
Plans also call for adding 250 more seats throughout the park.
The $1.5 million project would be split between the city of Fort Smith and the county and should be completed by next June.