£36.7m water park opening date revealed

A new leisure centre in Coventry which claims to be one of the best water parks in Europe is set to open its doors later this month.

Coventry City Council has invested £36.7m in The Wave, which opens on October 21, and has made a further £13.5m in the new 50 metre pool at The Alan Higgs Centre, including a grant from Sport England of £3m split across the two facilities.

Cllr Kamran Caan, cabinet member for public health and sport at Coventry City Council, said: “I’m delighted that we have an opening date for the Waterpark at The Wave. It’s a little bit later than we had hoped but we wanted the quality to be spot on before we opened the doors to local people and visitors. First impressions count and now looking around this fantastic building, I’m convinced that local people will really enjoy these incredible facilities.

“No other city has this kind of facility in the heart of the city centre and it’s the perfect legacy to our year as the European City of Sport.”

Cllr George Duggins, leader of Coventry City Council, said: “I’m very pleased that we’re finally about to open The Wave’s waterpark. In times of austerity, we have taken a brave decision to invest over £30m into the Wave which is our biggest investment in sport and physical activity, and I think this along with our new 50-metre pool and Coventry on the Move initiative in our parks underline our commitment to get Coventry active.

“It’s been fascinating watching this building take shape over the last few years and I’m sure it’ll prove to be a major attraction. City centres are changing and attractions like this will have an important part to play in the success of our city centre.”

The opening of the waterpark follows on from the July opening of the Wave’s Lifestyles fitness facilities and Mana Spa. The fitness facilities, Mana Spa and the waterpark will all be managed by Coventry-based company CV Life.