A 1,000-foot water slide is coming to Tampa on May 14th!

This is coming to Tampa in May:

Here’s a photo that might give you a better idea of its scale:

Click the photo to see it at full size.

How ’bout one more photo for an even better idea of the kind of water slide I’m talkin’ about?

Slide the City is a thousand foot-long urban water slide event that’s been touring the country last year and is scheduled to come to Accordion Bay in May.

Tampa’s flat geography makes it a jogger’s and cyclist’s paradise, but terrible for a slip-and slide ride. You might be wondering where in the city you could possibly set up a giant “slip ‘n’ slide”, but the organizers seem to have found a pretty good solution: the bridge on North Avenue that crosses the Hillsborough River. Here a Google Street Maps photo of the area (North Boulevard and West Palm):

Click the photo to see the Google Street View.

The area’s not too far from downtown Tampa and still relatively undeveloped (it’s near the historic Armature Works building, in an area I like to call “Tampa waiting to happen”), which makes it possible for both lots of parking and a block party to be set up.

“This is the first bridge slide we’ve ever done,” says Slide the City creator Spencer Hunn. “We Utah boys love to sled and ski, so I would think it would be fun to be able to sled in Tampa for the first time ever.”

There’s a catch: At least 4,000 tickets to the event need to be pre-sold to make it financially viable. The “early bird” prices, which are valid through April 8 are:

• $10 for a single slide
• $25 for two hours of unlimited sliding
• $45 for four hours of unlimited sliding

Later, prices will be $20 for a single ride and $45 to $65 for unlimited rides. You can register at slidethecity.com.

Who want to join Anitra and me?