A decades-long vision to build a $1.5 million whitewater park and kayak slalom racing course on the Truckee River in…
A decades-long vision to build a $1.5 million whitewater park and kayak slalom racing course on the Truckee River in downtown Reno, Nevada, reached a milestone last Friday 25 July when the Reno City Council voted to begin construction next month.
Awarding of a construction contract followed Washoe County`s approval Tuesday to fund the kayak course under a statewide bond that Nevada voters passed last year for an array of projects.
The Truckee River`s Whitewater Recreation project is a great opportunity for Northern Nevada to become a dynamic destination for kayaking and other sports, Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt, chair of the Nevada Commission on Tourism (NCOT) and the Truckee River Whitewater Steering Committee, said. This adventure attraction also helps diversify the region`s tourism appeal.
The Steering Committee of state and local officials, which has guided creation of the project, has scheduled an official groundbreaking ceremony August 7 at 10 a.m. at Wingfield Park, a river island where the kayak course will be built. It will overlook the heart of Reno`s glittering downtown hotel-casino district and growing cultural arts community along the picturesque riverfront.
Bruce Bommarito, executive director of NCOT and a steering committee member, said the whitewater park will help expand Reno`s image as the place to visit for an all-around outdoor adventure experience that also offers resort hotels, fine dining and 24-hour gaming and entertainment.
In this era of intensifying competition for casino customers, it takes more than gaming alone to attract visitors to Nevada, Bommarito said. Outdoor adventure is a strong attraction that is essential to our tourism product, and the Reno/Lake Tahoe area has the landscape for it. Where else can one find skiing, golf courses, a magnificent alpine lake, gaming resorts and a beautiful whitewater river all within 45 minutes or less from the airport?
The kayak course is scheduled to be completed by November 1 and will be fully operational by January 1, 2004, according to the designer, Gary Lacy of Colorado, and members of the design team headed by Reno hydrologist Jim Litchfield. The construction contract was awarded to Cruz Excavating, Inc. of Incline Village, Nev., the low bidder, for $1.2 million. The balance of the $1.5 million project costs will cover final design work, supervising of construction and building a bridge to provide public access to Wingfield Park from nearby Bicentennial Park.
The whitewater park vision for the Truckee River begins with the kayak course but also includes improvements at eight other publicly owned sites over a 24-mile stretch of the river during the next several years. The steering committee intends to continue guiding and promoting the rest of the project, which is estimated to cost a total of $6 million, including the kayak course.
Steering committee members also include Reno Mayor Bob Cashell, Reno Parks and Recreation Director Nancy MacCartney, Sparks Mayor Tony Armstrong, Washoe County Department of Water Resources Director Steve Bradhurst, Truckee Meadows Water Authority General Manager Lori Williams, Reno-Sparks Convention & Visitor`s Authority President and CEO Jeff Beckelman, Wells Fargo banker Mendy Elliott, and boating community representative Craig Schriber.
Construction of the kayak course is able to begin in August because the city of Reno and two Reno casino owners each loaned $500,000 so that the contract could be awarded, since the bond funds will not be available for a month or longer. The paying of the bond funds will reimburse the city and casino owners Don Carano of the Eldorado Hotel-Casino and Phil Satre of Harrah`s Reno Casino-Hotel for their bridge loans.
The whitewater park will attract lucrative regional and national competitive kayaking events and call attention to the spectacular outdoor adventure and recreational assets of Reno, Sparks, Washoe County and Lake Tahoe, which include skiing, golf, mountain biking, hiking, rock climbing, whitewater rafting and kayaking, parasailing, hot-air ballooning, and much more.
Outdoors enthusiasts have enjoyed rafting, canoeing and kayaking on the Truckee River for decades, but the river channel has needed to be improved and enhanced to remove dangerous obstacles and become more navigable for recreational boating, particularly during periods of low water flow. The whitewater park will maximize the use of existing water in the river and also work in concert with fish migration and regional flood management goals.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
