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Big Dam Waterpark proposes eight special events, offers to return receipts above $20,000 per day
Summary
Big Dam Waterpark asked the AMP commission to invest in eight ticketed events to boost a park that needs roughly $2.5 million annually; promoter Mr. Blevins proposed drone shows and other programming and offered to return any single-day revenue above a $20,000 threshold back to the city, while commissioners asked for audited financials and clarification on long-term commitments.
Big Dam Waterpark representative Mr. Blevins pitched an eight-event program to the Texarkana Advertising & Promotion Commission intended to increase tourism and stabilize the park financially.
Blevins said the park needs approximately $2.5 million in annual revenue (about $25,000–$27,000 per day across an 85-day season) to be sustainable. He proposed a mix of events — a drone show, Memorial Day and Labor Day programs, a Juneteenth event, movie nights at the wave pool and other themed weekends — and provided per-event projections. For example, he estimated a drone show could draw 3,500–4,000 attendees and that drone shows cost roughly $30,000–$130,000 depending on scale. For multiple ticketed days he projected typical ticket averages around $14 (walk-up face price about $25) and estimated a $35,000 gross day in a mid-range scenario, with food-and-beverage per-cap currently about $5 per visitor.
To limit city risk, Blevins proposed a refundable model: once a single event’s gross receipts exceed $20,000, the park would refund receipts above that threshold to the commission. He also said he would make point-of-sale day records available and that he manages other parks (for example, Baytown, Texas) and could provide comparative documents under public-records rules.
Commissioners pressed for more detail on auditing (who would verify the $20,000 threshold), the source and duration of any subsidy, whether other cities provide similar funding and how long AMP would be expected to support the park. There was discussion about using community-service labor for downtown cleanup as a cost-savings method elsewhere in the meeting; commissioners also requested Blevins provide formal financial statements and fill out the AMP application so the commission can consider a special meeting to review the proposal together with staff and counsel.
No funding vote was taken at this meeting; staff will follow up on feasibility, fireworks/drone approvals, and auditing procedures if the commission schedules a special meeting to consider investment.
