ASHLAND — The spray park at Ashland’s Kroc Center that was demolished in 2020 is being revived and officials there say they expect RJ’s Spray Park to be up and running by summer.
“We started construction two weeks ago,” said Maj. Annalise Francis. “It should be done by June, so just in time for summer.”
The old spray park was demolished to make room for the Kroc Center’s indoor water park, which opened in 2021. The new spray park, dubbed RJ’s Spray Park after Ray and Joan Kroc, will be adjacent to the existing picnic pavilion that was relocated when construction began for the indoor water center.
Francis said the spray park, also often referred to as a splash pad, will be open to the public free of charge Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The park, which will feature all sorts of sea creatures that spray water — picture dolphins, frogs, a crocodile and other such things like geysers and water canons — cost the center around $175,000. Francis said the Kroc Center received sizable donations from Bob and Jan Archer and the Norma Foundation.
Some of the park’s aquatic features will also make sounds.
“The sound features add that extra stimulation that help children develop motor skills,” she said, adding that a spray park is inherently more accessible for young people with physical or other developmental limits. The concrete pad allows for easy wheelchair accessibility.
“That’s one of the really nice things about splash pads or spray parks,” she said.
RJ’s Spray Park will be an added amenity to the Kroc Center’s long list of programs, Francis said. Specifically, the spray park’s close proximity to the picnic pavilion will allow access to families benefitting from the center’s summer nutrition program. She said the food program runs out of the pavilion during the summer months.
“So the spray park will be a nice appeal for families to enjoy recreation, but also we’re happy to provide a healthy nutritious meals that some don’t get while school’s out of session,” she said.
