Waterpark coming to Norman next year
By Joy HamptonThe Norman Transcript
NORMAN — On Wednesday, Kyle Allison, general manager of Andy Alligator’s Fun Park in Norman, announced that the family entertainment facility will expand to include a water park.
The fun park opened at Interstate 35 and Indian Hills Road in November 2007 and has been growing each year. The water park is a significant expansion for the family-operated and family-oriented business.
Allison’s announcement came in the form of a special presentation at the Norman Convention and Visitors Bureau board meeting and luncheon.
The $4.5 million expansion will include four and a half acres located west of the fun park and within Norman city limits. Allison said a feasibility study described it as a “great site” for a water park. The study indicated what people have been talking about for some time — that a water park is badly needed in this area.
The Allison family hopes the expansion will draw tourist dollars and more sales tax into Norman.
“We pull guests all the way from Ardmore,” Allison said.
Often visitors wanting to avoid the traffic in Dallas will select Norman as a destination spot. Andy Alligator’s partnered this summer with Embassy Suites for a tourist package that was very successful, he said.
The water park will be smaller in scale than White Water Bay, but it will have many unique features. The lower maintenance cost of the smaller site means lower entry fees for the family-friendly venue.
One of the most important features is that this water park will be geared toward families with children. Larger water parks are geared toward older children and teens. The water park at Andy’s Alligators will have more venues for younger children.
Cabanas, unique water features not available elsewhere in the state and other amenities will make it a premier destination for families locally and regionally.
Groundbreaking is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Oct. 12. The public is invited. The park will open in May 2012.
Andy’s Alligator’s is locally owned and operated by the Allision family.
Kyle Allison was named to Norman’s “15 Under 40” this year. He has worked in the family business most of his life. Allison said his family takes pride in living and reinvesting in Norman. He owns a home in Norman, volunteers through Norman Next and dreams of running a philanthropic organization to benefit the youth of central Oklahoma who want to be future business leaders.
Read more details of the coming water park in The Transcript’s Sunday Business section.
Joy Hampton 366-3539 jhampton@ normantranscript.com
Written by RePlay Magazine
Namco America issued a warning today about all games that have hanging prizes within them. Advancements and cost reductions in laser technology have created a new problem to those who operate games with hanging prizes whether the prize is hanging from a string or a spindle, the factory noted.
Hand held laser pointers with enough power to burn through colored string or a colored tie-wrap are now available for purchase from China at a fraction of the cost of what they were a couple of years ago. These devices are illegal in the U.S., but still find their way here via the Internet. A criminal armed with one of these can steal a number of prizes from a merchandiser in a short period of time, Namco noted.
The lasers have no affect on the white strings that currently ship with the Namco America games. The factory has been shipping BarBerCut Lite games stocked with white strings for around a year now.
“If you are currently operating a BarBerCut Lite game using orange strings, we strongly suggest you start using the white strings,” Namco stressed. “Also, as many operators use plastic tie-wraps to attach their prizes to the strings or the spindles in all merchandisers with hanging prizes, we strongly suggest you only use white tie-wraps as well.”
If you have any questions, or need any further information, contact Namco America at 847/264-5610, email arcadeinfo@namcoamerica.com.
RePlay Magazine
February 1, 2010
The Bowling Proprietors Association of America (BPAA), together with the United States Bowling Congress (USBC), recently celebrated the historic unveiling of the International Bowling Campus in Arlington, Texas. The BPAA Bowling Summit is a strategic midwinter conference for bowling center proprietors, managers and industry leaders, complete with seminars and the association’s committee and board meetings. This year, the association combined their summit meeting with the historic opening of the bowling campus, which resulted in a record number of attendees.
The new campus now includes the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame, a state-of-the-art museum with artifacts, interactive exhibits and gift shop. Also on the premises is the International Training and Research Center with the industry’s premier pro shop. This will be a facility where the industry will learn more about the sport through research and where the stars of today and tomorrow will train.
With today’s ever growing trend of bowling centers converting into family entertainment centers to include amusement products, the AAMA was cordially invited to share in the monumental event. Several AAMA members were also present at the event including Embed, FEC NRG, Intercard, LAI Games and Redemption Plus. The AAMA has once again reserved an island pavilion at the 2010 International Bowling Expo to be held June 30 – July 1 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, and is working closely with the BPAA to make this year’s gameroom on the tradeshow floor bigger and better than ever. For more information on this year’s pavilion, contact the AAMA toll-free at 866/372-5190.
