Schlitterbahn not expected to wipe out local water park

By James Rincon
Pflag Reporter

Central Texas still has room for Pflugerville’s Blu Bambu water park, despite Cedar Park City Council’s Jan. 28 approval of plans to bring a $360 million Schlitterbahn water park and resort to the area, officials are saying.

According to Pflugerville Community Development Corporation Director Charles Simon, Blu Bambu feasibility studies indicate the Austin area can support more than one water park.

“There’s more market to go around,” Simon said. “The Blu Bambu would not exhaust that market, and another park would not exhaust it either, so we’re confident that more than one park can operate in the area.”

Blu Bambu co-founder Jim Brisco said Schlitterbahn designed the first water park he built and he is not afraid of competition.

“They have their market they’re looking for; we have the one we’re looking for. The city of San Antonio has three water parks, two real big ones. Dallas has eight water parks, and all of them are expanding and growing. So it’s just a surprise that Austin only has the one small one right now. I don’t think that’s really going to affect what we do.”

Simon said the plans for the Cedar Park resort are not new.

“We’ve known about the proposed park in Cedar Park now for about two years or longer. It’s not a new thing. It’s been proposed for a long time,” he said. “I don’t know exactly what kind of effects each one is going to have on the other right now. Now that [Schlitterbahn officials] are saying what facilities they are going to have and a little bit more about their plans, we will be able to see how the two parks will affect each other.”

Many factors will play into which park tourists will choose to visit, Briscoe said, but Blu Bambu will likely be the cheaper choice.

“They’re definitely going to be more than we are for admission, so there are a lot of different factors that come into play on it, but there’s definitely room for more than one water park in Austin,” Briscoe said. “People tend to drive to the one that’s a little bit closer or the one that’s offering what they’re looking for.”

Simon said size and name-recognition will also play a role in determining each park’s demographic.

“Schlitterbahn is Schlitterbahn, there’s nothing like Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels. Whereas Blu Bambu will serve Austin, Central Texas and other part of Texas,” he said. “It may be that they’re serving two different markets. The one over there is planning to be much larger, and it may actually serve a larger market area, whereas this one will serve a more immediate area.”

Contact James Rincon at 255-3733 or by e-mail at jrincon@pflugervillepflag.com