Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Sidney’s Aquatic Center opens Saturday.
“The pool’s clean and we’ll be getting our lifeguard room ready this week and the concessions have been ordered,” Director Kiersten Richards said. “We’re ready to rock and roll.”
Richards anticipates another lucrative year for the aquatic center.
“We surpassed the number we thought would come last year. People are figuring out that the prices are reasonable,” she said. “It’s $150 for an entire family for the whole summer. They can come and go as they please.”
The aquatic center endeavors to be open every day during the summer, including holidays.
“Our capacity is 331 at one time, and we’ve had more than that throughout the day but never at the same time,” Richards said. “People have been really excited about it.”
The only concern remains the weather.
“We have to make sure our patrons are safe,” Richards said. “If there’s lightning within 10 miles, we have to empty the pool.”
The aquatic center boasts “something for everyone,” Richards said.
Its competition pool has six, 25-yard lanes, with water aerobics offered adult lap swimming times.
The aquatic center also features a leisure pool.
“We’ve got areas for babies, with a mushroom waterfall, and a water slide for eight years and under, and it slowly enters into the deeper part of the leisure pool, which then goes into the lazy river,” she said. “The lazy river is by far our most popular feature.”
This year, some hours have been changed.
Fridays from 6 to 8 p.m. are now reserved for private parties.
“It’s $125 per hour and that includes all our full staff, but the pool is to yourself,” Richards said. “They have to reserve it at least a week ahead of time.”
Lifeguards are undergoing their re-certification this week, Richards said.
“The new guards who need certification will be doing that within the week. We have a full staff for this weekend but hopefully everybody will be completely certified by the end of next week.”
The pools are filled. Their chemicals are being balanced and the water heated.
“It takes a while to heat that big an area for water,” Richards said. “The lap pool will be a little cooler than the leisure pool. The swim team likes it a little cooler for competition purposes.”
A daily fee is available at the pool, and passes for the summer can be purchased at Sidney City Hall.
Season water aerobics pass, and family pass discounts are available for children in the free and reduced lunch program.
Sidney Aquatic Center is open Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m., and will be open the same hours on Monday for Memorial Day.
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(308) 254-2818
817 12th Ave. Sidney, NE 69162
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