Largest Water Park In IL Bought By Bowlero: Report

YORKVILLE, IL — Yorkville's Raging Waves, the largest water park in Illinois, was bought by Bowlero, according to a report from Investing.com.

The world's largest owner and operator of bowling centers, Bowlero said the acquisition, as well as same-store sales, helped drive a total revenue growth of 8.8 percent for the quarter, the financial portal reported.

Last year, the company also acquired Lucky Strike, a popular arcade and bowling alley with locations throughout Illinois, in an all-cash deal valued at about $90 million, according to Yahoo Finance.

"We bought [Raging Waves] at an attractive price with the opportunity to partner with a strong operator in the space," Bowlero Founder and Chief Financial Officer Thomas Shannon told Business Wire. "We will continue to use internal and external investments to support increasing wallet share from customers in the out-of-home entertainment space, helping grow our industry-leading free cash flow generation."

Located at 4000 N. Bridge St., Raging Waves is home to 32 water slides, a wave pool, a lazy river, private cabanas and more spread across 58 acres. The water park will celebrate 17 years this summer.

Raging Waves is set to open June 1 for its 2024 season.

Patch reached out to water park representatives for comment but did not hear back at the time of publication.