Despite early hurdles, O’Fallon aquatic park made a splash in its first summer

Despite erratic weather conditions, a late start and growing pains, the new O’Fallon Aquatic Center’s inaugural summer was successful, both monetarily and in community response, park officials say.

The aquatic center, along with the Katy Cavins Community Center and the O’Fallon Amphitheater, were part of the $20 million Community Park upgrades that were unveiled in mid-June.

The Aquatic Center includes a leisure pool with zero depth entry, a vortex pool, two slides, a 6-lane competition pool, diving board, concessions, and two-family locker rooms.

A Ninja crossing (obstacle course) still needs to be installed, then the pool will be complete.

Patrick Christensen, director of the recreation department, said income was $200,325, compared with last year’s $124,960, even with losing a few early weeks.

“It was a pretty incredible summer,” he said.

He reviewed the department’s Aquatic Center report with the O’Fallon City Council’s parks and environment committee recently. The pool opened June 14 and closed Sept. 1 (Labor Day).

Admissions totaled $129,000, compared to $46,750 in 2024. Christensen said about 200 people used the pool daily, with the highest use June 19, which drew about 450.

The cost of single admission for residents is $8 for children aged 5 to 17 and seniors age 60 and up, adults from age 18 to 59 are $10, and children 4 and under are free with an adult admission (resident and non-resident). Non-residents are charged $11 and $13 for the above-mentioned services.

The biggest days are weekends, he explained, but half of the 12 weekends were affected by weather factors. “It was significant, whether it was rain, or lightning,” he said. “Still, it was a pretty outstanding year.” Punch passes and swim lessons were down because of the late start and uncertainties, he said, but they hope to bounce back next year. Still, 151 people took lessons and 59 signed up for one-on-one lessons. Rentals increased for pool parties, grossing $17,000, compared to $13,900, he said.

Concessions increased from $15,475 last year to $24,000 this year for food and from $4,350 to $10,000 for drinks.

Because of a larger facility, staffing increased too. All are seasonal, and most college and high school students. The department employed five assistant pool managers instead of the usual three, and lifeguards went from 20 to 37, with concessions and admissions workers increasing from eight to 17 employees. On any given day, staffing included 10 lifeguards, up from four last year.

The pool hosted five swim meets for the O’Fallon Breakers swim team, and is where the O’Fallon Township High School girls swim team practices in September.

“We are beyond thrilled with the success of our inaugural season,” he said. “This achievement would not have been possible without the outstanding efforts of our recreation administration staff, managers, lifeguards, support personnel, and parks team. Each of them went above and beyond to ensure a safe, welcoming, and memorable experience for our community.”

Located at 401 E. Fifth St. along U.S. 50, the pool had been a fixture in the park since 1959, when the town’s population was about 4,000; in 2024, it was 32,169.

In the Parks Master Plan unveiled in 2022, replacing the community swimming pool, creating an all-inclusive playground, adding community space for gatherings, more hiking and biking trails, completing the Family Sports Park, and putting new parks in underserved areas were among the improvements highlighted.

Because the pool had physical issues that needed to be repaired and made ADA complaint, it was totally rebuilt and enlarged, providing amenities for both adults and children. Upgrades to the restrooms were necessary.