Former water slide tower

Family fun is about to return to a long-idle part of a northwest side park where a mysterious gray brick tower stands, topped by what looks like a faded red boxcar or two.

Pima County is working with Kirk and Julie Vaughn to reopen the BMX track, go-cart track, miniature golf course, and concessions at Mike Jacob Sports Park, west of Interstate 10 and south of Ina Road, in January 2013.

The Vaughns hope the rejuvenated park will provide plenty of recreational opportunities for young people where few exist now. They’re aiming for a “soft” opening the second week of January and a grand opening on Saturday, Jan. 19.

“We’re going to bring it back to life,” Julie Vaughn said this week.  “We’ve got the go carts purchased. We’ve got the miniature golf purchased.”

Dirt to be graded into BMX track

And they’ve got 18,000 yards of dirt – more than 21,000 tons, courtesy of the Pima County Ina Road Wastewater Reclamation Facility – to be graded into 1,200 feet of BMX track.

“It’s beautiful dirt,” Julie said, not as rocky as the dirt at the Manzanita BMX Raceway, in a County park southwest of Irvington and Mission roads, which the Vaughns have managed since 2000. They will close the Manzanita track in January before they open the Northwest Side one.

Paying homage to the recreation area’s former name – Funspot, Kirk Vaughn said, “We’re going to call it the Xtreme Funspot.”

What you won’t find at Xtreme Funspot:

• The three enclosed water slides that descended from the red top of the gray brick tower into a small but deep pool. The slides were sold to Breakers Water Park when Funspot closed in 1996 and the pool has since been filled with dirt.
• Batting cages. The Vaughns plan to fill that area in and convert it to a remote-control car track.
• Alcohol. Although old-timers might fondly recall buying plastic half-gallon milk jugs full of beer for $5 at Funspot (the Vaughns found thousands of the bottles inside the concessions building), Kirk and Julie are more interested in hosting teen nights and children’s birthday parties. “We’re catering to the kids,” Julie said.

Go-cart track

The American Bicycle Association is providing the insurance for the BMX operation.

The County plans to connect Xtreme Funspot to The Loop, the system of bike and pedestrian paths being developed around metropolitan Tucson, so BMX cyclists will be able to get to it from other parts of town and travel between it and the Kory Laos BMX Park at the County’s Flowing Wells District Park.

Xtreme Funspot and the athletic fields at Mike Jacob Sports Park, operated by Championship Sports since 2010, will be at the northern end of the County’s Corazón de los Tres Ríos del Norte sports, recreation, flood control and economic development project that County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry unveiled as a concept in 2010.

Miniature golf course

Did you know that Mike Jacob Sports Park is named for the late founder of the Adopt a Park/Public Area litter abatement program in Tucson who also helped create Tucson Clean & Beautiful? Mike Jacob served as president of the Tucson Clean & Beautiful board of directors from 1987 to 1993 and as a board member until he retired in 2001. As executive director of corporate affairs for Golden Eagle Distributors, he designed programs in high schools to address underage drinking and worked with the DUI Task Force to sponsor the Do the Ride Thing program to keep impaired drivers off the road. Jacob was the driving force behind many of Golden Eagle’s philanthropic efforts to assist in children’s welfare, education, the arts, and environmental awareness. He was an avid supporter of the University of Arizona Athletic Department and a member of the Tucson High Badger Foundation and USS Tucson Committee. The park was named for him after he died in 2009.

For more information about Pima County parks and recreational opportunities, please visit http://www.pima.gov/nrpr/index.htm or call the Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation Department at (520) 877-6000.

Keep up with Pima County on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pimacountyarizona.

Pima County, Ariz. – Four years ago, 14-year-old Kory Laos was riding his bike on Speedway Boulevard near the University of Arizona and was killed when one motorist turned in front of him and another hit him.

On Saturday, Oct. 22, Pima County’s biggest BMX park – named for Kory – is having its grand opening at Flowing Wells District Park, 5510 N. Shannon Road.

The grand opening of the Kory Laos Memorial Freestyle BMX Park is at 8 a.m. and will include BMX and mountain bike demonstrations, bike repair and free helmets for kids.

Kory, who was a student at Tortolita Middle School, was riding with friends when he was hit on May 4, 2007.  One SUV turned in front of him, its rear fender snagging him.  A second SUV hit him.  His friends and his family – dad Scott, mom Lynn and brother Kyle – have been working since his death to raise funds and make the park a reality.

“It started as a way for my wife and my older boy and me to grieve,” Scott Laos said.  But then they realized it was “not just about my little boy.”

“It’s about our whole community.”

They all want a safe place – away from cars – where kids can ride.  A place that gets them off the streets and outdoors, away from TV screens and video games.  An alternative to boredom and getting in trouble.

“If I accomplish any one of those, then I’ve accomplished what I set out to do,” Laos said.

Their efforts are documented on http://korylaos.com.

“We raised about $10,000 on our own,” Scott Laos said.  “And we just received a grant from the Tohono O’odham Nation for $8,000 more.”

Pima County donated eight acres for the park.  It is dirt now – a special dirt that keeps dust down and prevents erosion – graded and shaped, with two tracks.

Helmets are required.  Riders can be cited if they are caught without them.

The county has no liability, Laos said.  It’s ride at your own risk.  Signage is up.  As many as 50 riders at one time – of all ages – have tried it out.

The park is not finished.  A concrete and steel bowl with halfpipes, tabletops and other features is on a list of Pima County bond projects that will go to voters at a still-undetermined date.

“I’m optimistic about that,” Laos said.  “I’m a patient man.  I’ll do what I can to give children a safe place to ride.”

Laos said the park is in “a perfect spot,” on the south bank of the Rillito River Park with its pedestrian and bicycle paths.  Riders can use the car-free paths to get there from as far away as North Craycroft Road to the east or West Silverlake Road to the south now that the Santa Cruz and Rillito river park paths are connected.

The BMX park’s grand opening coincides with the Oct. 22 Launch The Loop event, celebrating the connection of the Rillito and Santa Cruz river park paths.  Launch The Loop registration begins at 7:30 a.m. at Flowing Wells District Park.

When completed, The Loop will be 55 miles of car-free paths around metropolitan Tucson, connecting the Rillito and Santa Cruz river parks with greenways along the Julian Wash and Harrison Road, and Pantano River Park.  For more information, go to www.pima.gov/TheLoop.