A long-awaited aquatics facility with a lazy river, slides and an outdoor “wave ball,” among other features, could be a reality in Pasco by 2026.

The Pasco Public Facilities District board recently took a significant step in the process to bring the facility to life when it approved what’s known as a “validation report.”

The lengthy report – it totals more than 130 pages – provides a glimpse of what the facility will most likely look like, with renderings, schedules and more.

The approval is “a big step in adding aquatics and family entertainment for Tri-City families and visitors alike,” said Matt Watkins, who’s managing the aquatics facility project.

The approval means the project now moves to the design and construction phase.

A long-awaited aquatics facility in Pasco recently hit a milestone when the Pasco Public Facilities District approved a "validation report" with drawings, schedules and more.

| Photo courtesy NAC/Bouten Construction

Aquatics history

The aquatics facility will be built on 13 acres in the Broadmoor area of Pasco, near Broadmoor Boulevard and Harris Road. Construction will happen in waves, with the $37.4 million Phase 1 focused on leisure and recreational features.

The second phase is to include an Olympic-size pool.

A third phase also is a possibility in the future; its features are yet to be determined.

The money will come from a two-tenths of a percent sales tax increase approved by Pasco voters in 2022.

Pasco residents long have supported an aquatics facility, and building one in the city has been studied and discussed for more than two decades.

In 2013, a regional aquatics facility built in Pasco and paid for with a sales tax increase across the Tri-Cities seemed a very real possibility.

A measure made it to the ballot in Pasco, Richland and Kennewick; however, it ultimately failed after Pasco voters signed off but those in the other two cities didn’t.

Watkins said he’s heard some critics say the planned facility in the Broadmoor area won’t be big enough to serve the entire region. But “Pasco is doing its level best to make a regional aquatics facility with a Pasco budget,” he said.

The vision of the project is “to provide a distinctive, modern facility that is adaptable, inclusive, enduring and fun for all ages,” according to the validation report, which was prepared by the design-build team of NAC Architecture and Bouten Construction.

They engaged in community outreach, including attending events and conducting an online survey, and used the feedback and priorities identified to help in creating the report.

Features

The document outlines the initial scope for the first phase, which includes a 33,000-square-foot building with 12,000 square feet of indoor pool space featuring a zero-depth entry children’s play area, lap lanes and a lazy river with a “social alcove” and “vortex.”

The building also is to include concessions, a lobby/lounge, offices, storage and more.

A waterslide tower with two flumes that start inside, circle around outside and re-enter the indoor pool area also is planned, according to the report.

So is an indoor/outdoor hot tub.

“The whirlpool/hot tub is generously sized and will allow bathers to walk in the water from the interior to the exterior through a door in the exterior wall, year-round,” the report said.

Outside features are to include a zero-depth entry pool with a children’s play structure, spray features, basketball hoops, climbing walls and an obstacle course.

“The main feature of the outdoor pool responds to the voted priorities (of the community); it is a wave ball that generates waves within the circular zone of the plan,” the report said.

Other features range from lounge chairs to private rentable cabanas.

The report also includes a “betterments” list that could be added if funding allows. These amenities range from a third waterslide to beach volleyball.

A long-awaited aquatics facility in Pasco is set to include outdoor features such as a zero-depth entry pool with a children’s play structure, spray features, basketball hoops, climbing walls and an obstacle course.

| Photo courtesy NAC/Bouten Construction

‘Really proud’

The aquatics center won’t stand alone in the area.

The public facilities district and city have a vision for a civic hub that will serve as a neighborhood anchor and spur further economic and social development.

As for the aquatics center, Watkins said groundbreaking is expected around the end of the year and the hope is for substantial completion by February 2026.

Watkins is a former longtime Pasco City Council member and mayor, and he’s been leading the aquatics center project for a couple of years.

He’s glad to see it underway.

“Being able to work on a really important community project has been incredible,” he said. “(When the facility comes to life) we’ll have done something that makes me really proud.”