Water slide structure at Midwest Health Aquatic Center called “industry leader” Slide designer places it among the top 10-15 percent in the nation
The vice president of Avalanche Water Slides, Inc. calls the water slide complex at Midwest Health Aquatic Center “an industry leader”, saying it is “one-of-a-kind” and his company’s best yet. Zach Stone describes the 35-foot high slide tower as “a unique experience,” and “a very safe thrill”. He is anxious to replicate the design elsewhere on an even larger scale.
While municipal water slides average 20-feet in height, Stone says the 35-foot height of the Midwest Health Aquatic Center slide tower places it among the top 10-15 percent of municipal water slides in the country. Challenged by Midwest Health Aquatic Center contractor BA Green to create the best slide structure possible, Stone said that more than 100 hours of design work went into creating the slide complex to fit a lot into a compact footprint. Three 32-inch, 220-foot-long mat slides designed for speed twist and turn and seem to intertwine, yet are each within one foot of length for patrons who wish to race each other.
“The running length is the same, but each slide is a different experience,” said Stone. “It entices you to ride again to get that different experience.”
For those content to go a little slower, one 42-inch enclosed body slide (no mat required) measures 252-feet and 10-inches in length. A 42-inch open slide measures 171-feet, three inches. The enclosed slide features one translucent section and translucent rings at each joint. The light coming into the tube gives riders the illusion of going faster than they are really moving.
“It’s very rare to see a slide of this level in a municipal park,” Stone said.
While the slides have a capacity for five riders at a time now, the structure is designed so that two additional slides can be added for a fraction of the cost of building a new slide.