Tower Park

Tower Park is a leisure complex in Poole, Dorset, England. It was one of the first complexes of its kind when it opened in 1989, and it still continues to attract thousands of people from throughout the area. It is named after the large concrete water tower that sits at the top of the hill on which the complex is built. The complex is owned by X-Leisure who own twenty similar sites across the UK.

The site's main attractions include Splashdown - a waterpark boasting 12 slides, and Bowlplex - a 24 lane bowling alley previously known as Megabowl. The bowling centre has had a £1.25m regeneration, with the introduction of many of Bowlplex's sub brands including The Pool Pit and Video-World. There is also a Gala Bingo venue and a cinema with ten screens which was formerly owned by UCI, but as a result of a ruling by the Office of Fair Trading concerning the merger of UCI and Odeon Cinemas the theatre was sold to Empire Cinemas. There is also a video arcade and numerous restaurants, fast food outlets and free parking facilities. The complex's Burger King restaurant was rebuilt in 2005 after it was burnt down following an arson attack. Also onsite is a Tesco Extra which has its own parking facilities. There was formerly an ice rink at Tower Park called 'Ice Trax' but this was replaced by Gala Bingo in the mid 1990s.

Tower Park has undergone a modernisation programme to expand its facilities. This includes a new, larger KFC, four new restaurants including TGI Fridays, Nandos, Chiquitos and Flame, and the recladding of the existing buildings. The new restaurants are partially built on the site of the Splashdown tower, the former Colonnades building and some of the old car park, which have been demolished.

There was also a tanning salon called Sundown, which closed down in 2007, along with a confectionery shop called Stickey Mickey's, which went into administration in September 2007.

External links

* [http://www.towerparkcentre.co.uk Tower Park Complex Website]
* [http://www.x-leisure.co.uk X-Leisure]
* [http://www.splashdownpoole.co.uk/splashdown/new/home.htm Splashdown]