PASCO, Wash. – The new $37.4 million Pasco Aquatic Center is approved and is now in the design and construction phase.
“We expect groundbreaking to happen later this fall and in probably November or December time frame,” Executive Director of Pasco Public Facilities District Matt Watkins said. “We’re expecting to hopefully open it in April of 2026. So it’s a fairly aggressive time from groundbreaking to actual opening the facility in a little over a year.”
The project includes a lazy river, two water slides, an outdoor hot tub, a basketball pool and the most anticipated project: a centralized wave pool.
“Imagine a ball that goes up and down in a round space and it creates sort of a standing wave. And it’ll be an attraction for dozens of people at the same time to be able to use,” Watkins said.
There isn’t another centralized wave pool in the Northwest. The facilities district will visit a waterpark in Missouri for inspiration.
The center will be open year-round with 60 percent of the amenities inside the building and 40 percent outdoors.
Voters passed an additional sales tax in April 2022 to fund the aquatic center. In less than two years the city has saved just over $5 million for the project just from the taxes. Pasco plans on paying for the project only with the tax money but will bond out $47 million to get the project running.