For two years, the popular Splashland pool near Alamosa sat dry, decrepit and empty, a reproving sight to the locals and tourists who missed its retro charm and cool water.
But this summer, the pool will fill again with people and water drawn from the hot springs underlying the San Luis Valley.
Alamosa businessmen LeRoy Polkowske and Scott Erickson of SLV Builders bought Splashland for around $100,000, roughly the equivalent of the pool’s outstanding debts. They will close on the deal this week.
“Just as soon as the lawyers get around to us,” Polkowske said.
Splashland, on Alamosa’s northern outskirts, was built in 1955 by Eldon and Lloyd Jones, who ran it until selling it to a community nonprofit in 1987.
Then the problems started: Two managers caught embezzling money; extensive, expensive repairs and upgrades.
After Splashland closed in 2008, former Splashland board director Donna Jenkins kept the place afloat with financial donations. Polkowske and Erickson credit her as the driving force behind the sale.
Plans for Splashland include possibly keeping the once-seasonal pool open during the winter.
