THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | WEDNESDAY, MAY 7, 2008
Pool Season Just Around Corner
The sound of barbecues beginning to sizzle, children playing in the streets and the jingle of ice cream trucks in local neighborhoods means summer is right around the corner.
They also mean local pools will soon entertain hundreds of people once again.
In Niles, Oasis Water Park/Recreation Center, 7877 Milwaukee Ave, will re-open on Saturday, May 24, through Sept. 1.
This past winter, the center was entirely reconstructed at a cost of $5 million, according to Tom Elenz, finance director.
The 11,000 sq. ft. building has new bathrooms, an additional kiddie pool area, rental rooms for birthday parties, and a concession area.
Iceland Skate and Swim, 8435 Ballard Rd., will open June 14 and close Aug. 17. That pool only saw annual maintenance over the winter.
Oasis will be open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Iceland will be open from 1 to 4:45 p.m., Monday-Thursday, 1 to 6 p .m. on Friday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Daily rates for both pools are $5 for children under 12; $7 for adult residents and $10 for adult non-residents; and $4 for senior residents and $6 for senior non-residents.
In Park Ridge, at Centennial Park, located on Western Avenue just south of Touhy Avenue, approximately $900,000 worth of maintenance to the infrastructure of the lap pool and children's pool were conducted after the 2007 swimming season ended.
There is a new baby pool. The old one was leveled and a new one was built in its place, according to Desiree Van Thorre, aquatic supervisor. She also said new filters were installed in the pools.
The pool will open on Saturday, June 7 and close Sept. 1.
Oakton Pool, 2800 W. Oakton, will open Saturday, May 24 through Aug. 10.
Thorre said the diving well was removed and will be replaced with grass. She said the park district had past issues with the diving well being unable to work.
The other two pools are Hinkley Pool, 25 Busse Hwy. and South Park Pool, 833 Talcott Rd.
Hinkley will open Saturday, May 31 and South Park will open one week earlier on Saturday, May 24. Both pools close on Sept. 1. Neither pool had any renovations over the winter.
All daily fees are $5 for residents and non-residents, Thorre said.
In Des Plaines, Mystic Waters water park, 2025 Miner St., will open to the public on Saturday, May 31 through Aug. 24. There were no renovations made over the winter, just some minor repainting, said Jennifer Boys, asst. supt. of facilities for the park district.
Daily fees for residents with photo identification are $7 for kids under the age of 18 and $8 for adults. Non-residents will pay $9 for children and $11 for adults.
The other two outdoor pools, Chippewa Pool, 191 N. Eighth Ave. and Iroquois Pool, located at Touhy and Maple, will both open on Saturday, June 7. Iroquois will close on Aug. 3 and Chippewa will close two weeks later on Aug. 17.
The three-meter diving board was removed at both pools due to safety reasons, Boys said. In its place is a new one-meter board. Fees for both pools are $5 on a daily basis.
Glenview's Roosevelt Aquatics Complex, 2239 Fir St., will begin limited weekend hours over the Memorial Day weekend. The regular season will begin on Thursday, June 12.
Last year, according to park district officials, 2,281 people attended the first weekend of the season.
Roosevelt is a two-pool complex featuring a semi-circular zero-depth play pool with interactive spray play features and a 25-yard, five-lane activity pool. Flick Aquatics Complex, 3600 Glenview Rd., will also open the season on Thursday, June 12. Flick is a large zero-depth play pool with interactive spray play features and a youth play structure.