Beer sales at Sun Splash?
Cape Coral City Council will discuss Monday the possible sale of beer, wine and wine-based smoothies at Sun Splash Family Waterpark.
The sales – limited to two per adult – would provide additional revenue to address park maintenance, allow for new amenities, open the door for corporate events and reduce dependency on general fund tax dollars to subsidize the facility, officials said.
The city owned water park has seen a decrease in attendance since reaching a high of 114,348 visits in 2015.
The following two years saw numbers crash to 87,000 as a result of a fire and Hurricane Irma before a rebound in 2018 to 96,220 despite issues with its Pirates Cove attraction and some rebuilding.
The staff presentation will cite industry professionals who have reported a 10 percent increase in attendance once alcohol was offered.
Volcano Bay in Orlando and Adventure Island in Tampa are water parks already selling “light” alcohol, with some municipally owned parks doing the same.
One of the compromises proposed will be a two-drink maximum per person.
Based on the average profit of $4 per beverage, selling 250 adult beverages a day (a conservative number) could net $1,000 daily, with an approximate revenue of $120,000. Fixed expenses and start up costs would eat a little into that total.
The serving of alcohol would be controlled with staff training, a drink maximum and wristbands, the presentation to be made Monday states.
Councilmember Rick Williams said he hadn’t made a decision on the proposal, as he can see both sides of the argument.
“It’s a kid’s park, but they also rent the place out for adult-based events. I can go either way, but I want to hear from the people and what their objections are,” Williams said. “It’s something we’re going to kick around and see if the city manager wants to pursue it further.”
City Council is also expected to discuss the Parks & Recreation Master Plan and improvements to be paid for with the GO Bonds that Cape Coral voters approved in November at Monday’s workshop session.
Williams said the discussion will begin on what projects will be prioritized and solidifying what the city wants to do.
“Right now, we have ideas. The concept is not hard and fast, so we need to get more input from the public and what people want to see where,” Williams said.
In other business at the meeting to begin at 4:30 p.m. at City Hall, Jeff Pearson, utilities director, will give the annual utilities report, which is expected to state that the city is meeting or exceeding its goals.