ROGERS — First day attendance at the Rogers Aquatic Center at Dock Wheeler Park wasn't as much as expected, but sales on half-price 10-punch passes exceeded expectation.
“Unofficially, we sold about $400,000 in punch cards during the two-week sale. We won’t have the final tally for a couple of more days,” said Barney Hayes, parks director.
He said he won’t be able to say who bought passes — residents or nonresidents — or the exact number of passes sold, only the amount of money received for passes.
Punch cards are good for 10 visits to the Aquatic Center. Normally the passes are $85 for adult residents of the city but were on sale for $42.50. A single-entry resident ticket is $12 for adults.
“The half-price passes make it very affordable for families to enjoy the new Aquatic Center,” Hayes said.
Greg Hines, Rogers mayor, helped sell passes Saturday at the grand opening of the $13 million center.
“The sale of passes far exceeded our expectations,” Hines said Tuesday. “There was no way we could have ever predicted we would sell $400,000 worth of passes. It was unexpected, but it was certainly welcome.”
About 1,100 swimmers, the rated capacity of the center, tested the water and slides Memorial Day, Hayes said.
“For a couple of hours on Monday, we were at our capacity level, but later in the day it tapered off,” Hayes said.