:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/shawmedia/KZ3BETTBEBH4ZPTJ5BWEBVBLSQ.jpg)
BRADLEY – What’s in a name?
According to Bradley Mayor Mike Watson the answer to that is plenty.
And as construction material orders are being placed and a timeline is being set for development and a grand opening, the water park complex is yet unnamed.
Watson is hoping to find a name to appeal to the masses and help draw tourists – from near and far – to the planned water park at the Northfield Square mall site.
At Monday’s Bradley Village Board meeting, finance director Rob Romo said the village is looking for a theme and logo for the $75 million to $80 million project.
Watson said the naming contest will be kicked off on the Bourbonnais Township Park District’s quarterly newsletter which should be published between early and mid May.
The goal is to have a name selected by the end of this summer. The name will be critical, he said, regarding the success of the complex.
“We want a good, catchy name to grab the people. ... The right name will be worth millions of dollars to the village,” Watson said. “... Let’s see what suggestions we get. Let’s hear what the public has to say.”
Watson said it is not a guarantee that any name suggested will be used. He said if officials aren’t satisfied with any of the names, they will go in another direction.
He also said he is mulling some type of prize for the person who supplies the name chosen. He has not determined what the prize might be for the winner.
The approximate $45 million baseball and softball complex, set to open this spring, did not have a naming contest. It is known as the Bradley 315 Sports Complex.
The 315 number comes from the Interstate 57 interchange, as the complex is located just north of the intersection of Bradley Boulevard (Illinois Route 50) and Armour Road.
Watson is confident there will be many suggestions for the water park’s name.
The water park will be the most expensive man-made tourist attraction in the history of Kankakee County.
Officials are projecting it will have the capability to hold 1,700 to 2,000 patrons at a time and pump millions annually into the local economy.
The baseball complex is projected to attract upward of 3,000 people during tournament weekends. The ultimate goal is for one complex to help feed the other with out-of-town guests.
The village recently OK’d the sale of $30 million of bonds for the water park. The board will likely issue another $30 million bond sometime later this year.
The board recently gave approval for the administration to place an order for the park’s domed cover.
If all pieces fall into place, construction of the year-round, glass-enclosed structure on the grounds could begin in spring 2026.
Consultants believe this timeline could mean a late 2027 opening. The park would also feature a retractable roof.
If constructed as preliminary designs have illustrated, this water park would be in the top 20 in the U.S. in terms of size. The actual water park portion of the project would sit on about 2 acres of land.
The park would be about 100,000 square feet when all areas are factored in, meaning some areas are not for water use.
The project, under the direction of American Resort Management LLC, of Erie, Pennsylvania, and engineering consultant Ramaker, of Sauk City, Wisconsin, would be built on the mall property the village recently purchased for $6.5 million.
Financing for the development – which the consultants described as being one of the top 10 national water parks – would come through government bond sales to be financed through a combination of Tax Increment Financing revenues, hotel taxes and business district taxes.