RICHLAND, Wash. — Members of Richland's Columbia Basin Racquet Club from tots to adults will have more places to splish and splash next summer.

The owners are planning to add a 4,000-square-foot family aquatic center with a leisure pool, a 10-foot lazy river for water play and a zero-entry pool.

"We're still working on some final details and getting permits from the state and the city," said owner and general manager Randy Willis. "We'd like to break ground as soon as possible. We hope to have it open by Memorial Day."

He estimates the cost of the aquatic center will be $2.5 million. It'll be built next to the existing outdoor pool using some of the parking lot.

"But that won't affect parking. We have an abundance of parking with the main lot and the lot across the street, and we have all the land tied down to the Park and Ride," he said.

Adding an aquatic center isn't a new idea.

"We hired an architect-design firm in 1995 to develop a master plan for the club, and the aquatic center was designed in then," Willis said. "In 1997, we added on approximately $2 million in new tennis courts, a lounge, gym, clay courts and internal remodeling. Six or seven years back, we created some youth spaces for kids' programs and exercise. Now it's time to make the move on phase four, the aquatic center."

It's an idea that's catching on around the Tri-Cities.

Tri-City Court Club in Kennewick opened a water park it calls SplashDown Cove in the summer of 2011. It features a lazy river, twisting slide, pool area and splash features.

The focus of the Columbia Basin Racquet Club has always been families, Willis said. In recent years, there's been a surge in lower end, lower priced, heavy sales oriented chain gyms catering to adults, he said.

"This is one way the larger, family, multipurpose clubs can distinguish ourselves ... serve our members and attract more families," Willis said.

For more information about Columbia Basin Racquet Club, go to www.mycbrc.com or call 943-8416.