Thundering Water Park seeks to combine fun and health | Business

Miniature golf here, ponds and waterfalls. There are BMX and pumping tracks, such as a roller coaster. The pavilion is full of people playing ping pong, shuffleboard and a corn hole. Food cars. Postcard-like views of the South Umpqua River.

Smith describes his vision of Thundering Water, a family-friendly recreation center focused on fun and healthy lifestyles. And unlike other places where parents drop their children and come to pick them up an hour later, this park is designed to encourage families to stay together and play together, he said.

Every Thundering Water activity is designed to appeal to people of all ages, Smith said. Whether you’re 90 or 5, you can still have fun. We want all generations to interact with each other.

Thunder Water The Chinook translation for the word Umpqua is directed to a rectangular strip of land west of Fir Grove Park and Roseburg National Cemetery. The plans require just about anything you can ask for at the recreation center:

• An 18-hole mini golf course spread over an area of ​​about half an acre with waterfalls, ponds and other bodies of water. Each hole celebrates a special place in Oregon, including Crater Lake and Toketee Falls. Large donors are also respected for each hole. The course is designed to present unique challenges to visitors, Smith said. We don’t want people to come play this course once and say, “I got this. We want them to come back.
• Bike paths for riders of different skill levels, including the pumping track, which is a series of rollers and berms depicted on a roller coaster. Smith said they got the idea from a family vacation to Sedona, Arizona, which includes a visit to a bike park.
• A pavilion with several games such as concrete table tennis, football, corn hole, ladder and shuffleboard. There will also be games and activities that change every few months to show off new and creative activities that can be played at home. Such games include a circular spike, human pyramids and a square.
• Climbing walls and boulders color-coded based on risk and skill level.
• A splash pillow with bubbling fountains for music and fountains that shoot colored foam.
• A lifestyle / nutrition center that helps visitors create better diets and healthier lifestyles. There are educational kitchens with open windows for people to watch the meals being prepared, as well as TV screens for viewing. Meals are plant-based. Basically, the idea is to teach people to make foods that are good for you but also taste good. Many people just don’t know how to make delicious, plant-based recipes, Smith said. They see that eating right is not cardboard living. We really tried to dispel some of these myths.
• Food cars that serve tasty, nutritious meals, including vegetarian food. Smith said he hoped there would be three or four trucks on site at the time, and he is firmly committed to Wrappin and Rollin, a vegetarian restaurant in Roseburg that also has a food truck.

HEALTHY FUNSmith said it is important that the park provides healthy food and activities as well as fun time for visitors. This focus on healthy living is the conviction of Smith and other board members, he said.

As a pediatrician, Smith said 70% of patients seek treatment for diabetes, which is often associated with diet and lifestyle choices. And this shows Douglas County’s more widespread health problems, such as obesity, heart disease, chronic illness and other illnesses often associated with poor food choices and lifestyles, Smith said.

Thundering Waters hopes to address these issues, but do it in a way that is also fun and entertaining, he said.

This whole initiative is under health and well-being, Smith said. As a community, we struggled to get chronic diseases under control. This is one way to educate people. We hoped that this would be a good force in the community.

One way to do this is to make the center accessible to as many people and families as possible, he said. This is the main reason Thundering Waters is a non-profit community that eliminates for-profit efforts to help keep costs down, he said.

While the details are still being developed, Smith said the entrance fee is about $ 1 if the minor is accompanied by an adult. Activities in the park more. For example, a round of golf costs about $ 8, he said. Pricing is built to encourage families to come together, Smith said. Annual tickets are also sold for about $ 95 a piece.

Because they were non-profit, access is cheap. It’s not an exclusive club, Smith said.

The driving force behind the project is a five-member government. In addition to Smith, board members include Jared Cordon, head of public schools in Roseburg; Brent Eichman, CEO of Umpqua Health Alliance; Knut Torvik, CEO of ABCT, Inc.; and Nicholas Jones, an engineer at Engineering Inc.

The group doesn’t waste time getting the park out of the country. They started discussing the project in earnest about seven months ago. Thundering Water, the name of the non-profit company behind the company, was founded in June. Its official 501 (3) announcement from the IRS is pending, Smith said. However, the organization accepts donations.

LOOSE ENDSThe group has already compiled a 35-page project plan, a list of dozens of potential donors and more than ten potential grant opportunities, as well as a list of entrepreneurs and other project sponsors.

The construction schedule is also fast. Construction is scheduled to begin in June and the target date for the center’s inauguration is May 26, 2023, the Friday before Memorial Day.

Everyone has been very supportive, Smith said. People understand that this benefits the community.

Victory Builders, Inc., owned by Tom Park, designs and builds many of the park’s features, including a mini golf course. The Pappas family, led by Tom Pappas, made themselves known over the years by building funny projects in Disneyland, Las Vegas casinos, and more.

Tom Pappas ’son Pete Pappas, who is vice president of Victory Builders, said they plan to make the mini golf course different and memorable.

We’ve all played badly and we’ve seen the good ones, and we want to be creative with this and try to make this thing unique, Pappas said. We want to make you feel like you are experiencing the Umpqua Valley by playing this course.

There are still loose ends attached. The estimated cost of the project is $ 2.5 million, of which $ 1.5 million will go to land costs. It’s money that needs to be raised, he said, adding that large donors are lined up, but they want to see smaller donations come first before checks are written.

The zoning of the country needs to be changed, but Smith said early discussions with city officials have gone well and he sees no obstacles on the horizon. The ridge of the area needs to be emptied to offer a view of the river, and the walking trail along the river that will eventually connect the area to Stewart Park needs to be funded and built.

But Smith eliminates these small drawbacks aside.

Instead, he cites synergies that help make the project successful for families from Fir Grove Park to come after football matches, shoppers from the Umpqua Valley Farmers Market across the street to stop to play, students from nearby Fremont Middle and Roseburg high schools visit after school for a fun time.

In short, Smith is confident that he is part of something the community wants and needs, a place for important health messages delivered through fun family entertainment.

We tried to improve health and well-being, but we did so through recreation, Smith said. You can never underestimate the power of recreation.