Tonawanda, N.Y. (WBEN) - The new Paddock Chevrolet Park in the Town of Tonawanda is getting ready for a possible grand opening in June.
The new park will include a full-size ice arena on one side of Brompton Road and multiple outdoor activities like pickle ball, volleyball, rugby, and a splash park on the other.
Tonawanda Councilman Carl Szarek explained why the town is focused on keeping prices as low as possible for activities that require an entry fee.
"We found that a lot of people can't afford to take their kids to Darien Lake or a place like that. A lot of summer activities that we've had, or even fall with a Halloween party, we're overwhelmed with how many people come because families don't have that kind of money," Szarek said in an interview with WBEN. "You've got three or four kids, you're talking hundreds of dollars. You can come here for practically nothing and get somewhat the same experience."
While the parking situation isn't ideal at this time, Szarek says the town is actively working on solutions to help mitigate the traffic.
"One of the reasons we tore the old arena down, parking right now is kind of at a premium. That's a concern, but at least for the first few weeks we're going to have our staff out assisting in parking. That would be a good problem to have," Szarek said. "To have this parking lot backed up with people and have this splash park full of kids and 600 people in the arena and people playing volleyball. That would be a good problem to have, but we're ready for it."
