Bettendorf Celebrating Historic Day on June 2
The City of Bettendorf is honoring its history while also breaking ground on an exciting future development:
THE LANDING GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY
On Friday, June 2nd at 9am, the City is going to kick off its day-long 120th Birthday Community Celebration
with a Groundbreaking Ceremony at The Landing (www.bettendorf.org/TheLanding), located at the corner
of 23rd Street and Middle Road. The event will include remarks by Bettendorf Mayor Bob Gallagher, YMCA of
the Iowa Mississippi Valley Board Chair Mo Hyder, RDG Planning & Design, and General Constructors, Inc.
(GCI) – which was chosen by Bettendorf City Council in early May 2023 to construct a large component of
this multi-million-dollar project.
“This is going to be a historical day for the City of Bettendorf!” said Mayor Bob Gallagher. “Bettendorf Middle
Pool was a true hot spot for many of us who grew up here and was later renamed to Splash Landing. It’s
time for a new chapter and for the next generation of kids and families in the Quad Cities to have a
state-of-the-art facility they deserve!”
The Landing is made up of two amenities – a state-of-the-art aquatic facility and a permanent ice rink. The
first component under construction is the $18 million aquatic facility, which will be built in two phases to
ensure the project can be successfully completed within the established budget while maintaining all the
features that were presented to the community:
Phase 1: Large Activity Pool & 4 Supporting Buildings
Construction Starts May 2023 – Completion Date May 2024
The 12,500-square-foot activity pool includes a zero-depth entry with a spray feature, ninja-style ropes
course, lap lanes, and a diving well with two diving boards and two climbing walls.
Phase 2: Slide Tower, Lazy River, Spray Pad
Construction Starts September 2024 – Completion Goal May 2025
The other features of the aquatic facility include a three-story-high slide tower with three slides, a 430-foot-
long lazy river, and a 3,700-square-foot splash pad.
1609 State Street | Bettendorf, IA 52722 | (563) 344-4000 | www.bettendorf.org
Following the completion of the aquatic facility, work will begin on the permanent ice rink. This amenity
includes an outdoor ice rink that will be utilized in the winter with the ability to be converted to a turf field in
the off-season for community events like concerts, picnics, and movies – all of which will accentuate the fun
and excitement taking place at the aquatic facility.
Several components of the ice rink are being constructed as part of the aquatic facility contract with GCI
due to shared spaces and other construction efficiencies, bringing the total value of GCI’s contract to $19.6
million. Work on the ice rink could be included in an amendment to Phase 2 of the aquatic facility, or it may
be bid separately depending on construction staging and pricing.
“We are excited to get to work on this milestone project,” said Decker Ploehn, City Administrator. “We are so
grateful for the financial support shown to The Landing by the YMCA, the Scott County Regional
Authority, the Regional Development Authority, the Bechtel Trust, and Scott County. Without them, this
project would not be possible.”
BETTENDORF’S 120TH BIRTHDAY COMMUNITY CELEBRATION
As the shovels hit the ground at the corner of 23rd Street and Middle Road, events will be starting up in every
corner of town to celebrate the City of Bettendorf’s 120th Birthday. From deals and discounts to free food,
special tours, and even a bounce house obstacle course – community members can find a full list of all the
festivities taking place on www.bettevents.org. Mayor Bob will be making stops all day long in a customized
birthday vehicle and will be streaming those visits live on the City of Bettendorf’s Facebook Page:
www.facebook.com/officialbettendorf.
At 3:30pm, the City of Bettendorf will hold its own event – a short, but sweet one-hour-long party at Faye’s
Field, located near the Family Museum and Bettendorf Public Library. There will be live music, activities for
kids, a ginormous birthday card for everyone to sign, and more.
Following the day of fun, The Tangled Wood (3636 Tanglewood Road) is holding a music festival starting at
5pm, where all five breweries in Bettendorf – Crawford, Twin Span, 5 Cities, Adventurous, and Nerdspeak –
are relaunching the special brews they created for Zip Code Day in 2022 (5/27/22) and returning for a Tap
Takeover. Overflow parking is available at Crow Creek Park and the City will be providing golf cart shuttle
service to and from The Tangled Wood.
