Improved splash playground to reopen

Splash Zone ready for fun just in time for spring break.

PALM BEACH GARDENS — Just in time for spring break, a long-awaited, revamped splash playground in Palm Beach Gardens will be ready for action.

The Splash Zone by the pool on Burns Road will open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., March 17 with music, games, contests and prizes. Children 6 years old and younger can play on a spray pad and splash playground while older swimmers can enjoy the play pool with diving board, rock wall, slides and a basketball hoop.

Children will notice a new addition — a curly, blue-andyellow enclosed slide that will drop them into the 4-foot end of the pool, said Palm Beach Gardens spokeswoman Candice Temple.

Palm Beach Gardens expected the job to be finished last June, but the company doing the work wasn’t finished until the fall. By then, it was the end of the season.

“I know that a lot of people missed it. We’ve gotten some really great feedback,” Temple said. “For some families, it really is a staple of their weekend family time.”

People can bring their own coolers, as long as there’s no alcohol or glass bottles, or they can buy refreshments at the grand reopening, she said.

Installed in 2004, the custom-designed splash playground closed at the end of the regular season in October 2016. It was starting to show signs of wear and needed to be renovated to be safely operated, according to the city.

The playground’s original installer, Com Pac Filtration, disassembled, refurbished and repainted the equipment. That cost less than replacing it with new equipment, Temple said.

The Aquatic Complex next to the Burns Road Recreation Center also has a 25-yard pool for swimming laps and doing water aerobics, plus a 12-foot dive well for synchronized swimming and scuba diving.

Admission fees are $3.55 for residents and $11.15 for non-residents. IF YOU GO

Splash Zone

Reopening

■ 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 17

■ Aquatic Complex, 4404 Burns Road

■ Resident admission: $3.55 / Non-resident admission: $11.15

■ Refreshments for sale, or bring your own. No alcohol or glass bottles allowed.

CONTRIBUTED BY PALM BEACH GARDENS Palm Beach Gardens’ Splash Zone will reopen March 17. The playground equipment is refurbished and repainted, and the city added a new slide.