2 massive, stainless-steel slides at City Hall Plaza in St. George now open to public

ST. GEORGE — Two new, four-story stainless steel slides are open and ready for the masses, just in time for (soon-to-be) cooler temperatures.

"That was extremely fast going down, but this will be fun. I can't wait to bring my kids," said Dameron Valley resident Derek Graph.

The slides are positioned at the top of the St. George City Hall Plaza parking structure, with one measuring 74 feet long and the other 62 feet.

The total project cost approximately $575,000 and was funded through a voter-approved RAP tax dedicated specifically to recreation, arts and parks. In addition to the slides, a series of tunnels runs through a turf-covered hill that kids can climb through and climb on top of. The park also has three mini in-ground trampolines and bench swings, with the entire ground covered in turf.

Graph, who works near Town Hall, said that over the past several months, he'd seen the slides being built and often wondered what they were for. Having experienced the slides firsthand, he now says that he thinks it is a "clever idea" and a "good way to make use of a high building."

David Cordero, city communications and marketing manager, said that people are "starting to see the vision."

"I think maybe there was a little bit of a misunderstanding of what we were trying to accomplish here," he said. "We have over 100 slides in our city inventory. Now we've got another place where people can recreate."

KSL spoke to Cordero last June, and he explained that even though the slides are stainless steel, they conduct heat much less than the reflective chrome or aluminum slides of the 1980s and 1990s.

"Our slides are almost completely enclosed except for the very bottom," he added.

With the slides now open and southern Utah temperatures still creeping toward 100 degrees, Cordero said that it hasn't stopped residents from enjoying what the new park has to offer.

"When the temperatures get a little cooler later in the day, this park has been packed," Cordero said Tuesday. "We really love how people have taken to the idea behind not only this park, but the plaza.

"We really wanted to activate the space," he continued. "We didn't want City Hall just to be another city building that people only came to because they had to; we wanted people to want to be here in the heart of downtown. With this park, specifically, we wanted something where people could enjoy themselves, and we don't have to use water for it."

The slides are free to the public, as is the parking.

"We invite everybody to come out and have some fun," Cordero said.

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