SILVER SPRINGS MANAGEMENT, LLC. TO OPERATE WILD WATERS ATTRACTION AT SILVER SPRINGS STATE PARK

Florida DEP Banner

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 23, 2014

CONTACT: DEP Press Office, 850.245.2112, DEPNews@dep.state.fl.us

SILVER SPRINGS MANAGEMENT, LLC. TO OPERATE WILD WATERS ATTRACTION AT SILVER SPRINGS STATE PARK

~Water park expected to open in early June~

OCALA – The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has reached an agreement with Silver Springs Management, LLC. to operate Wild Waters, the water park attraction at Silver Springs State Park. The multiyear agreement runs through the end of September 2016. In re-opening Wild Waters, Silver Springs Management, LLC. anticipates creating more than 60 jobs.

The department issued a Call for Business Plans on May 15. Following a meeting of interested business entities, the department received four proposals by the May 21, 5 p.m. deadline. The department reviewed the proposals and talked with all of the proposers to determine which one could provide the best services to visitors to the park with the best return to the state of Florida.

Thousands of residents in the Central Florida area have requested Wild Waters continue to operate. The department is making repairs to the facilities that are anticipated to keep Wild Waters open for several years.

The concessionaire will operate all aspects of the water park, including, but not limited to, ticket sales/admission fee collection, operation of multiple waterslides and swimming pools, food and beverage sales, merchandise resale, recreational equipment rentals, event management services, and locker rentals.

The 266-acre Silver Springs attraction became part of the award-winning Florida Park Service on Oct. 1, 2013, when it merged with Silver River State Park. The total property consists of 4,660 acres of uplands, wetlands and submerged lands that surround the Silver Springs headwaters and river, as well as Ross Allen Island.