J.D. Mullis, 10, center, floats through the lazy river at the Eudora Aquatic Center. The pool opened for the first time Saturday.

Eudora ? Tate Long pedaled quickly down Elm Street, dropped his bike off in the dirt, and got in line just minutes before the grand opening of the Eudora Aquatic Center.

“I’m just looking forward to going down the new slide,” the 12-year-old said.

Before Saturday, Tate said his parents had to drive him to Lawrence to swim. Since he can get to the new Eudora pool on his own, he said he plans to be there every day until school starts.

Construction of the pool, 1638 Elm St., has generated excitement in the community of 6,027 for months.

The opening was delayed a day because the center didn’t pass inspection Friday, said Tammy Hodges, parks and recreation director. The problems had to do with unfinished bathrooms and exposed windows, she said.

Construction crews worked until 2 a.m. Saturday to ensure the pool would pass a second inspection, Hodges said.

“It’s good that it’s finally opened up,” said Dan Balsinger, on his way into the pool.

The $3.8 million project replaces an older pool, but also includes a recreation facility, complete with a game room and gym. It’s being funded through a bond issue and a half-cent city sales tax increase.

The pool was the first part of the project to be completed.

Construction equipment surrounds the pool as work continues on the rest of the facility, scheduled to be open by November.

“It doesn’t look like Eudora anymore to me,” said Mason Fawcett, 9.

The 260,000 gallon pool, which is about the same size as the old one, has more amenities, including a slide, a lazy river, six lanes, a diving well and zero-depth entry.

“We’ve been waiting a really long time for a pool, and the last pool we had wasn’t really fun,” said Morgan Monroe, 10. “You can’t really get bored here.”