LAWTON Okla_ It may be cold
outside, but the Comanche Tribe already has summer on the brain.
Each year a big
question around here is, "Will the Comanche
Nation Water
Park open for business?" The
leaders of the Comanche Tribe say "Yes."
It was just
last March that the tribe had to give refunds on season passes after admitting
they didn't have the finances to get the park opened. A local group came in weeks
later to open the park in June. For unnamed reasons, they are no longer
involved with the park's operations. The tribe wouldn't give us any details
regarding how the financial outlook has changed. They do say, however, that the
water park is now at the top of their agenda. So, the people of Lawton will have a place
to soak up some rays this summer.
Newly-appointed
Chairman of the water park Bill Shoemate knows they've been under fire over the
park's operations in the past. He said he is excited to make improvements and
ready to prove any critics they have wrong.
If there's one
thing Shoemate wants you to know about the Comanche Nation
Water Park
re-opening, it's this: it will open on time. Residents in the area have long
been used to the running drama with the water park. It's changed hands a couple
of times. Some years, it's had trouble even getting the season started.
Shoemate said
the tribe knows they've got something to prove.
"There was
one year that we didn't get the thing open," Shoemate said. "Boy, we caught a
lot of heat. The public was going nuts. The paper, the television, everybody
was talking about the water park opening. This is something the community
needs."
He said there
are big plans in the works. The entire park will get a bit of a facelift, and
there will even be a couple of new attractions.
"We have
some great plans," Shoemate said. "We have this half a million dollar slide
coming in. We're rejuvenating what we have here. Everything's being worked over."
There is also
talk of adding in a skating rink: an addition Shoemate believes the town needs.
He has the confidence of the entire tribe behind him, and he hopes to infect
potential season pass holders with the same confidence.
"I'm
ready," Shoemate said. "They wouldn't have put us over here and have us doing
all this work, if we're not going to open. The tribe is behind it 100%. The
community is behind it. So, it's just one of those things that will definitely
happen."
With the park opening, a slew of new job opportunities arise. Shoemate is
ready to start taking resumes and applications for every position from cooks to
lifeguards. They can be dropped off in the office on the park's premises.
Shoemate plans to have season passes on sale starting next week for $60.
