OSWEGO – On a nearly flawless and sunny summer day, Mayor Billy Barlow debuted the new water playground splash pad and nine hole mini golf course in Breitbeck Park.
Barlow held a ribbon cutting ceremony Friday, June 4, hosting those from the Oswego Department of Public Works and their families, offering an inside look and opportunity to frolic in the splash pad. Those Department of Public Works employees prepared and built the mini golf course, while Parkitects, Inc partnered with the city to design and install the splash pad, according to a city press release. The splash pad will open up to the rest of the community Saturday, June 5 at 11 a.m. and is something that Barlow thinks can help beat the summer heat.
“The splash pad was actually somewhat of an idea to act as a substitute for a beach,” Barlow said. “When I was campaigning in 2015, the thing I heard time and time again was ‘Oswego needs a beach. Oswego needs a beach,’ and there are a lot of issues that come with trying to get a beach here. We’ve made a few attempts at it … We thought that a splash pad wasn’t quite a beach but something that young kids could use safely right in Breitbeck Park.”
The two new attractions were built on the former baseball field adjacent to Breitbeck Park at the intersection of Lake Street and Ontario Street. The park kept the baseball field’s dugouts, opting to use them as a shaded area for parents to sit in as they supervise their children.
“We had this great facility that was no longer being used, this baseball field, and we had the shade, plenty of space for all of the activities,” Barlow said. “The concession stand used to be the scorekeeper stand, and we converted it over.”
Construction began on the play area in September of 2020, as it was partially funded through the New York State Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan grant that was obtained in 2016. The total cost of the playground was $400,000 with $165,000 of it coming from the grant. While the water play area was the major draw for the project, it was Barlow’s idea to include a mini golf course, one of his favorite summer activities.
“The mini golf course was an idea I had on a whim at the end of last summer,” Barlow said. “I love mini golf and go-karts, wherever I travel or wherever I see them, so since a business didn’t have one here, we thought it would be very appropriate [to put one] next to the splash pad and try to keep providing more activities here in one location.”
The splash pad will be free to those in the Oswego community; however, other attractions such as the concession stand – which sells hot dogs, beverages and snacks – and mini golf must be paid for. Mini golf is set to cost $2 for nine holes or $3 for two rounds, totaling 18 holes. According to Barlow, the concession stand will be operated by the public works department for the full hours of operation of the splash pad. The area will open at 11 a.m. and will close at 8 p.m. for the splash pad and 9 p.m. for the mini golf course and concession stand.
The new additions to Breitbeck Park builds off the more recent renovations to the park, including new seating areas and the basketball courts right next to the old baseball field. These improvements offer Oswego families an opportunity to have new things to do on a summer day.
“It further develops our waterfront area and [creates] an attraction to get people down to Breitbeck Park to see our waterfront and all the other amenities we have to offer,” Barlow said. “But I also think it is something fresh for Oswego families and the kids here to do.”
