A Business Plan That's All Wet

Kevin Dumont plans to soak his customers and they'll probably even thank him for it. Dumont opened NH's newest water park-Liquid Planet-in June. He hopes his $5 million park, which includes the cost of purchasing 42 acres in Candia, will eventually compete with juggernauts Water Country in Portsmouth and Whale's Tale in Lincoln.

The park, which opened in June, already has 10,000 children booked to visit this season through youth and summer recreation programs. We try to give people a wow' factor, Dumont says. The park features two 300-foot long slides that end in a 25,000-gallon swimming pool, outdoor showers shaped like fish, and what Dumont says is New England's largest Splashground- a 5,000 square-foot playground filled with brightly colored rides and amusements that spray children with water. It employs 91 people.

Dumont previously worked at a large electronics retailer for nine years before feeling burned out and wanting to be his own boss. In the summer of 2003, he embarked on creating a waterpark.

While there are water parks in the Seacoast and in the North Country, Dumont says there are no other water parks in the Greater Manchester or Concord corridor.

Dumont spent a year conducting research and putting together a feasibility study and business plan. He joined the World Waterpark Association, which helped him contact designers and contractors. It took a year to find land with the right zoning and space to accommodate the various planned phases of growth and another two years to go through the planning board and state inspection and permitting process. With financing from a small group of investors and a U.S. Small Business Administration-backed loan from Enterprise bank, Dumont broke ground on the water park and construction was completed within nine months. The park, which opened June 15 with 500 people attending inaugural festivities, sits on eight acres of the 42 acres Dumont purchased. He has the next 10 phases of the park already planned and designed. The timing of these phases will depend on the park's cash flow. Dumont plans to build a stage to host live concerts in the evening this season, and plans to open a miniature golf course and two speed slides for 2009 to attract teenagers and older patrons. He says he expects to install a wave pool in the next three years.

We will eventually have a lazy river and some more high-tech rides, he says. For more information, visit www.liquidplanetwaterpark.com.