Fallsville Splash Park

Fallsville Splash Park
Location	700 Falls Street at John B. Daly Boulevard, Niagara Falls, New York, United States
Coordinates	43°05′08″N 79°03′14″W / 43.0855°N 79.0539°W / 43.0855; -79.0539Coordinates: 43°05′08″N 79°03′14″W / 43.0855°N 79.0539°W / 43.0855; -79.0539
Owner	Private (1988-1991), City of Niagara Falls (1993-1996), Private (2005), Seneca Gaming Corporation (2006-)
Opened	1988, 1993, 2005
Closed	2006
Previous names	Niagara Splash Park
Operating season	May through September
Attractions
Amusement Parks Portal

Fallsville Splash Park was a water park located in Niagara Falls, New York. It was adjacent to the former Niagara Falls Convention Center.

History

The park originally opened as Niagara Splash Park on May 29, 1988. It was in operation until 1991, when Niagara Falls mayor Jake Palillo ordered the park closed. The city council voted to take over the park in 1993 and operated it until 1996. The park remained dormant until reopening in 2005 after a change in ownership and multi-million dollar renovations, including repair of damage caused by vandals in 2000.

In 2006, the property was seized by New York State using eminent domain and given to the non-sovereign Seneca Gaming Corporation. They have demolished the water park and will likely use the property to expand their Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel, which is housed in the former Niagara Falls Convention and Civic Center. Now a vacant lot, no redevelopment activity is underway.

Executives from the Seneca Gaming Corporation have said that a water park would add to the atmosphere of the casino and may attract families to the adjacent hotel. The area contains custom water park fixtures, which adds to the possibility that the park may be rebuilt.

Legal issues

The park and the surrounding area adjacent to the Seneca Niagara Casino has been the subject of a class-action lawsuit filed by attorney John Bartolomei in October 2010 on behalf of Fallsite LLC and residents who are angry over a 4% tax hike to be passed in 2011. The Seneca Niagara Casino is located on sovereign land owned by the Seneca Nation of Indians. However, the land adjacent to the casino, including parking garages adjacent to Niagara St., the site of a former Pizza Hut on the corner of Niagara St. and John B. Daly Blvd., the Holiday Inn property on the corner of 3rd Street and Duggar Drive, the former Niagara Aerospace Museum in between 3rd and 4th Streets and Niagara Street and Wendel Way, the former E. Dent Lackey Plaza (now a parking lot) in between Wendel Way, Duggar Drive, 3rd Street and 4th Street, former private homes on 5th and 6th Streets, and the Splash Park Property on the corner of Falls Street and John B. Daly Blvd, is owned by the Seneca Gaming Corporation. The Seneca Gaming Corporation is non-sovereign and therefore taxable, but is left off of the city tax rolls. If taxed, the corporation would be the largest payer of taxes in the City of Niagara Falls.