New Sedgwick County system alerted 19K+ in Riverside incident
26 July 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – The owners of Splash Aqua Park ICT plan to reopen Friday after they were forced to close this week when someone stabbed holes into the facility’s inflatable obstacle course Saturday night.
The incident caused an estimated $85,000 in damage, but the park will not be shutting down completely anytime soon, according to the couple operating the park.
“For a long time, we didn’t think that we were gonna even be able to operate for the rest of the season,” said Stephen Hager, one of Splash Aqua Park ICT’s owners.
The incident was the latest in a string of break-ins at the location.
In early July, a group of teens broke into the park and the shaved ice stand in front of the building.
A few weeks before that, they had broken into the shaved ice stand in a separate incident.
“Earlier this summer, they [vandals] came through, and they stole the cameras, stuff off the building,” Hager said.
Because the cameras were stolen, there is no security footage of Saturday’s incident.
“I mean, it was just malicious,” Hager said.
Hager and his wife, Ashton, plan to clean up the destroyed inflatables Thursday before reopening the undamaged half of the park Friday.
Tickets will be half-priced for the rest of the season.
“In 2024, we’re gonna have a full operation going again and continue to build on the support we’ve received,” Stephen said.
The Hagers say they’re less worried about break-ins happening next summer.
A local security business moving into the lot plans to add more surveillance to the area.