Splash Kingdom in Redlands will have a new look by 2019.

New owners Ryan Sauter and Dan Martinez say they have big plans for the property on California Street off the 10 Freeway.

Revamping the park’s overall look and adding amenities for all ages are top priorities for the owners, who hope to provide guests with a year-round experience.

“We’re all about finding ‘diamonds in the rough,'” said Martinez, who, along with Sauter, took over operations of the park on May 1, 2017.

Ryan Sauter and Dan Martinez are the new owners of Splash Kingdom Waterpark in Redlands. Sauter and Martinez want to provide a new experience for guests and have plans to remodel the local theme park that include removing the iconic pharaoh. Tuesday, January 2, 2018. (John Valenzuela/The Redlands Daily Facts/SCNG)

Ryan Sauter and Dan Martinez are the new owners of Splash Kingdom Waterpark in Redlands. Sauter and Martinez want to provide a new experience for guests and have plans to remodel the local theme park that include removing the iconic pharaoh. Tuesday, January 2, 2018. (John Valenzuela/The Redlands Daily Facts/SCNG)

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Ryan Sauter and Dan Martinez are the new owners of Splash Kingdom Waterpark in Redlands. Sauter and Martinez want to provide a new experience for guests and have plans to remodel the local theme park that include removing the iconic pharaoh. Tuesday, January 2, 2018. (John Valenzuela/The Redlands Daily Facts/SCNG)

Ryan Sauter and Dan Martinez are the new owners of Splash Kingdom Waterpark in Redlands. Sauter and Martinez want to provide a new experience for guests and have plans to remodel the local theme park that include removing the iconic pharaoh. Tuesday, January 2, 2018. (John Valenzuela/The Redlands Daily Facts/SCNG)

Ryan Sauter and Dan Martinez are the new owners of Splash Kingdom Waterpark in Redlands. Sauter and Martinez want to provide a new experience for guests and have plans to remodel the local theme park that include removing the iconic pharaoh. Tuesday, January 2, 2018. (John Valenzuela/The Redlands Daily Facts/SCNG)



Ryan Sauter and Dan Martinez are the new owners of Splash Kingdom Waterpark in Redlands. Sauter and Martinez want to provide a new experience for guests and have plans to remodel the local theme park that include removing the iconic pharaoh. Tuesday, January 2, 2018. (John Valenzuela/The Redlands Daily Facts/SCNG)

Ryan Sauter and Dan Martinez are the new owners of Splash Kingdom Waterpark in Redlands. Sauter and Martinez want to provide a new experience for guests and have plans to remodel the local theme park that include removing the iconic pharaoh. Tuesday, January 2, 2018. (John Valenzuela/The Redlands Daily Facts/SCNG)

The pair are the fourth owners of the park since it opened in 1996.

Martinez, former chief operating officer of Palace Entertainment, a multi-platform entertainment company and one of the largest operators of water parks nationally, and Sauter, former movie studio executive vice president and producer say running a theme park of any kind is a tough business. But they have faith in their development plans for Splash Kingdom and are already doing work on the property following guidelines of its current permit with the city.

RELATED: What changes should be made to Splash Kingdom in upcoming revamp?

The park was the brainchild of James Braswell, who wanted to create a space where guests could ride go-karts, play a few rounds of mini-golf and, during the summer months, cool down in the water.

Over the years, various owners of the park have had their share of problems — or “well-intentioned mistakes,” as Martinez called it. He and Sauter hope to bring a bit of “Disney-like magic” to the site.

“The park fell into disrepair, and so, 21 years later, you had a physical plan that was aging and had an ownership and leadership that had lost its way and had been disconnected from that initial magic,” Martinez said.

“When this location came up, we thought it could be a platform to kind of galvanize our vision,” Sauter said. “For me, this is a launching plan to do a lot of things.”

The goal is to turn the property into a “third place,” as the new owners put it, a place other than one’s home or workplace to socialize.

It’s a concept they say works for their restaurant in Orange, The Wall.

“We think if people just got together over a beer, a Coke or an arcade game, it would go a long way in making people realize they’re a lot more similar than different,” Martinez said. “And then there’s this notion of the Inland Empire not necessarily having kind of a go-to place, a hub for family entertainment. And so, the long-term vision is to create a place that is affordable, that is kind of home for the Inland Empire whether you’re in Redlands, Riverside or somewhere else.”

Visitors to the park in recent weeks may have noticed one big change, meanwhile. The iconic pharaoh statue no longer wears sunglasses.

The owners say they’ll eventually remove the pharaoh altogether, and they plan to rename the park.

As the owners continue to refine their plans and construction gets underway, operations at Splash Kingdom continue as usual. Summer passes for the water park are available for purchase and Martinez said guests will see the first of many changes when it opens in May.

“We don’t want to lose that initial magic the Braswell family created here,” Martinez said, “but we want to do something that celebrates what they had in mind.”

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