Beaver Falls ‘not moving forward’ with Tigerland Wave Pool plans

Chrissy Suttles, Beaver County Times
Updated ·4 min read
City leaders publicly ended talks with Tigerland Inc., nixing the group’s plan to reopen Beaver Falls’ long-shuttered wave pool.
City leaders publicly ended talks with Tigerland Inc., nixing the group’s plan to reopen Beaver Falls’ long-shuttered wave pool.

BEAVER FALLS — City leaders publicly ended talks with Tigerland Inc. Wednesday, effectively nixing the group’s plan to reopen Beaver Falls’ long-shuttered pool.

Beaver Falls has “considered other development options for the property” since January, city officials said in a statement.

“While the city will not be moving forward with Tigerland Inc, the future use of that land will be purposed for the betterment of our youth and the broader Beaver Falls community,” the statement read.

Nonprofit founder Tyrone Zeigler, 45, has spent seven years fundraising and securing grants to pay for a feasibility study and materials for the once-beloved pool. It's sat vacant for more than two decades. His initiative garnered more than $88,000 in community fundraising efforts, and Tigerland secured a $50,000 restoration grant for the project. He called it a labor of love – a gift to his hometown.

Zeigler took his first physical steps to renovate the site in 2020, starting work on bathrooms, office space and the concession stand.

Beaver Falls officials gave Zeigler a symbolic key to the property amid transfer negotiations, but Zeigler said he's since faced countless procedural roadblocks, red tape and political setbacks. He launched 501(c)(3) Tigerland Inc. and cut ties with the city and Beaver Falls Community Development Corporation to help facilitate the transfer of the property and finished a feasibility study, but Tigerland needed a deal with the city, which owns the property, to apply for more grant funding and move ahead with construction.

“They continued to move the goal post,” Zeigler said. “This was supposed to be about the kids and the community.”

In a statement, Beaver Falls leadership said the city started the process of transferring the pool to Tigerland in January, but the nonprofit "denied the offer."

After months of heated negotiations and growing frustrations, Zeigler thought the two parties had come to an agreement by late January. The city’s proposal included a non-disparagement clause, which Zeigler said Tigerland agreed to providing the clause was mutual. He said the city rejected a mutual non-disparagement agreement, deciding the conditions were not in the best interest of the city.

Negotiations appeared to stall after that, Zeigler said, but Tigerland had taken steps to develop a business plan in the meantime. He said no one contacted him about the city's decision prior to the statement's release.

“I feel like they never wanted this to happen, and were looking for a way out,” said Zeigler, adding the ongoing conflicts have contributed to stress-related health complications he's experienced in the past two years, including a recent stroke. "We did everything we were supposed to. Why did they continue to drag their feet? If you don’t have the money to upkeep a pool, why do you want to hold the deed? Why give us a key to the property and do all of this?”

Beaver Falls officials said Wednesday the city “has gone through a lot of changes since January 2022, including an increased focused on the care and development of our youth.” In January 2022, Beaver Falls’ home rule charter went into effect – restructuring the roles of city council and the city manager – and then-newly elected Mayor Kenya Johns took office after unseating incumbent George Quay.

Tyrone Zeigler works on removing the old deck from the Tigerland Wave Pool in 2020.
Tyrone Zeigler works on removing the old deck from the Tigerland Wave Pool in 2020.

“We believe that creating opportunities for the children of Beaver Falls is imperative to the longevity of the community,” Beaver Falls officials said. “We are committed to this focus wholeheartedly, not merely with our words, but more importantly with our actions … We wish Tigerland Inc. the best on their future endeavors.”

City leaders did not provide additional comment on the decision Wednesday.

Zeigler plans to attend an Aug. 8 Beaver Falls City Council meeting to address the decision before moving forward with next steps. He’s asking the community to join him at the meeting in support of the wave pool project.

“The pool is me,” he said. “I need to rally the community. I need people there. They’ve invested their time and money into this project. Some of my friends will tell me they’d have quit by now, but I’m not quitting. If I quit, I quit on all those kids that put bills and quarters in buckets. I quit on all those families. I can’t live like that."

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Beaver Falls ‘not moving forward’ with Tigerland Wave Pool plans