Atkins said the aim of the project was to expand the park’s capacity as well as attract more teens and adults.

“[The park is] going to be like a higher-end hotel pool,” Atkins said. “It’s not just over the top with the rides, but it has a lot to do and you can do it for a long amount of time.”

Atkins said in addition to the expanded amenities—a lagoon area aimed at teens, a pavilion and lounge area for adults, and a new playscape—the construction added two new bathroom areas to the park as well as underground infrastructure to support the development.

He said park officials looked at other facilities in the area, such as Hawaiian Falls Water & Adventure Parks in Pflugerville and Schlitterbahn Waterpark & Resorts in New Braunfels, to see what they could add.

“We wanted to know what they’re doing and how they’re doing,” he said. “We’re not trying to do the same thing that Hawaiian Falls is trying to do.”

Atkins said Schlitterbahn is a regional attraction that most families visit once or twice a summer.

“We anticipate people coming [to Rock’N River] 10 to 12 times a summer,” he said.

---

Lagoon

Atkins said the lagoon area of the center is where officials see more teenagers congregating and socializing.

The lagoon will feature a diving platform about 13 feet above the water that pool attendees can jump from. The diving platform will also feature a rock-climbing section as well as a slide.

[caption id="attachment_149583" align="alignright" width="460"] Lagoon[/caption]

“Teens like to cluster; they’re like herds, and this will give them an area that they can stay together and have fun diving off the top of the rock, going down slides, and playing water basketball and volleyball,” Atkins said. “I think that’s the section we didn’t have in the existing portion of the pool.”

Atkins said when talking to teenagers, park officials heard they wanted a “thrill component” to the pool.

“Most pools these days don’t have diving boards and don’t have that thrill component,” Atkins said. “We’re basically bringing it back.”

Atkins said park officials modeled the area after natural features found in the Texas Hill Country. He said the lagoon faces away from the rest of the Rock’N River to take advantage of the rolling hills surrounding the park.

In addition to the rock wall and diving platform, the lagoon area will also feature a recreational pool with a basketball hoop, speakers playing music, and a cabana made from a steel storage container.

---

Pavilion and lounge area

Atkins said the pavilion and lounge area is targeted at attracting adult pool attendees and entertaining parents while their children play in other parts of the center.

“We wanted to make sure we thought about parents as well as teens and young kids,” he said.

[caption id="attachment_149588" align="alignright" width="460"] Pavilion and lounge area[/caption]

The pavilion will feature a swim-up bar with nonalcoholic drinks and six to eight TVs. Individual seating will be available at the bar, and a bench will be located along the back wall, all of which will be under water. The lounge area behind the pavilion will feature lounge chairs and a shallow pool.   

“If there’s a baseball game and your kids are off doing something, you can hang out here and have a beverage,” Atkins said. “You’ll be able to have a really, really good time and just enjoy yourself.”

---

Playscape

The new playscape roughly doubles the capacity for the park by itself, Atkins said.

The tower structure has four slides as well as water features and spray cannons throughout, Atkins said.

“A little kid could run around here for an hour or an hour and a half and just have a ton of fun and not do the same thing more than once or twice,” he said.

[caption id="attachment_149590" align="alignright" width="460"] Playscape[/caption]

The structure is branded throughout with iconography from Round Rock and its history, such as the water tower, wanted posters for famous area outlaw Sam Bass, and a photo of the town’s namesake: the round rock.

“We really tried to incorporate our history,” Atkins aid. “It gives the sense that ‘I’m at home and I’m in Round Rock, and I’m having a good time at my place.’”