The City of Knoxville saw a successful first season of the new splash pad in the Veterans District.

This past week, the city has started to winterize local parks and one of those parks include the new splash pad. This was an addition that officially opened in May in Knoxville’s newest development. The splash pad saw a consistent flow of youth and their families all summer and Knoxville Parks and Recreation Director Brandon Nemmers spoke at a city council meeting over the summer saying how neat it was seeing license plates from so many different counties at the splash pad. City staff wanted this to be an area that continued to bring new life into the Veterans District and an area where kids can enjoy in the hot months of the year. Knoxville City Manager Heather Ussery says this is something the city has wanted for several years.

“It’s taken a long time for the community to get to this point so it’s just one of those times it feels like we did it. Seeing the splash pad, the kids running around, it’s a feature that we had talked about as a city for several years. We put it on hold because of the plans with the VA and we weren’t sure how that was going to end up and where the prime location for a splash pad should be. I think the waiting paid off and the location is perfect.”

The splash pad most likely will reopen in May.