Fayette Aquatic Center Addresses Decision To 'Close Early' For 2024 Season

FAYETTE, AL — The Fayette Aquatic Center on Friday answered questions from the community regarding its decision to not remain open through Labor Day.

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In a Facebook post published this morning, the city-owned water park said up until 2019 it had stayed open for weekends through Labor Day. After making the change several years ago, some in the community have reportedly asked the Fayette Aquatic Center about its decision to "close so early."

"[E]ven though we had great weather all four weekends [in 2019], the crowd wasn't enough to make it financially feasible to be open," the Fayette Aquatic Center said. "That, coupled with the fact that it is much harder to get enough staff to come in and work after school starts, we made the decision to close just before school starts."

What's more, the water park cited another contributing factor in that school seems to be starting earlier each year. In total, park officials say it has been open 72 days in each of the last two season.

"Would we like to stay open? Of course! Is it fiscally responsible to do so? Unfortunately not," the Fayette Aquatic Center said. "Being that we are owned by the City of Fayette, our goal is not to make a huge profit. Our goal is to not lose money."

The water park will continue to welcome patrons seven days a week through Aug. 4 before closing down for the season and reopening late next spring.

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While many in neighboring Tuscaloosa County make the short drive to Fayette to enjoy the water park, the aquatic center has often been compared to the initial water park concept in nearby Northport — a city embroiled in controversy over that same project ballooning from a $20 million, 12-acre development similar to the one in Fayette to a massive resort-style lagoon park developers say will attract $350 million in capital investment.

Those opposed to the University Beach development in Northport have insisted that such a development would not be a sound financial decision for the city given its scale and the uncertainty about the developer's ability to deliver on the capital investment.

These same detractors have often pointed to the Fayette Aquatic Center as a wonderful amenity for the city and surrounding area but — as was mentioned by water park officials — its expressed goal is simply to not lose money.

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