Illinois' largest water park is now reportedly under new ownership ahead of the 2024 season, with bowling alley operator Bowlero entering the fold.
According to a report from Investing.com, Bowlero has acquired Raging Waves in Yorkville, the state's largest water park that sprawls over 58 acres of land and operates seasonally from June to early September.
The report stated that Bowlero's acquisition came with approximately 53.5 acres of land, with the company referring to the park as a "superb, very profitable property."
In a Q&A included in the investing.com report, Bowlero CEO Thomas Shannon alluded to a potential major change he sees for the locally renowned water park in the future.
"The park is beautiful. The infrastructure is first class. It's well located. But there were a lot of things they weren't doing that are sort of fundamental basics in the waterpark and amusement park business. I'll give you one example. They didn't sell alcohol," Shannon said.
Shannon added that the addition of alcohol sales would both enhance the experience for adults and provide "meaningful revenue."
As far as how the bowling alley operator came across the acquisition of a large water park, Shannon was vague on who the company collaborated with leading into the purchase.
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"We have a partner who has a number of these assets and manages them, some of them for the owners, some of whom are very prominent, well-known businessmen. These guys are the best in the waterpark business, certainly on the regional level," Shannon said in the Q&A.
As for when any changes may be seen, Shannon said the timing of the acquisition played into how Bowlero plans to evaluate the park.
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"We've already effectuated a lot of changes. For example, applying for a liquor license months in advance of closing the transaction, which occurred one week ago today. That location will open around Memorial Day, and we'll have basically the entire season to evaluate how we like that business before any other potential transactions would come down the pike. So that's a very long-winded way of saying, yes, we're going to know exactly how this thing is performing and really know how well we like this business in very short order," Shannon said.
Shannon clarified that while he sees the water park industry as a way to generate more money, the company won't be leaving the bowling alley industry anytime soon.
"We are in no way abandoning or walking away from the bowling business. I want to make that perfectly clear. But we have the wherewithal from a management perspective and from a financial perspective of doing more than just bowling at this point," Shannon said.
The park is scheduled to open for the season on June 1 and will operate through Sept. 2. The park will operate on a weekends-only schedule during the last two weeks of August as well.
More information on the park can be found here.
