Splashes and swishes abounded Saturday morning as residents celebrated the grand opening of the amenity-filled Rogue Credit Union Community Complex, better known as Rogue X, in Medford.

The 140,000-square-foot aquatic, recreation and event center officially opened its doors, offering two indoor pools with a lazy river and two massive water slides, along with gymnasium space with eight indoor courts for basketball and other sports.

The facility is set to offer swim lessons and youth competitive swim meets, as well providing the Rogue Valley’s largest and newest rentable event space for future festivals, trade events and other occurrences, according to Rich Rosenthal, director of Medford Parks and Recreation.

“Normally it’s hard to get them out of bed on the weekend, but today was super easy,” Medford resident Michelle Atkinson said of attending the grand opening with her three kids and husband.

“They love swimming and are super excited about the water slides,” Atkinson added.

Following a handful of speeches from Medford City Manager Brian Sjothun, Rogue Credit Union CEO Matt Stephenson and other officials and a quick ribbon-cutting ceremony in the chilly downpour of wet snow, eager kids and families rushed to the pools and basketball courts to try out the new complex.

While the basketball courts were enticing, most of the little ones lined up to try out the two massive, yellow slides, with one offering a steep ride down and the other bringing a looping experience that extends outside the building and back inside.

“We’re loving the new Rogue X, it’s a beautiful complex,” Medford resident Matt Harris said, adding, “With all the new events and everything like that, it’s a good place for us to take the kids on a nice cold winter day.”

Considering that Rogue X contains Medford’s first year-round swimming pool, many families were excited to have an amenity to use during the colder months as well as a space to use during wildfire season when the air quality is poor.

“Being in the pool this time of year, we swim a lot in the summer but in the winter you don’t get to swim too much,” Atkinson said, adding that she intends to teach her 4-year-old son how to swim at Rogue X.

For city officials, the day was full of joviality with the culmination of a little more than five years of planning, permitting and construction to get Rogue X to the finish line.

“This is the day that I didn’t think would come, you know; it was all theoretical and now it’s so surreal to see a concept come to reality and the sheer size of it and the impact it will have,” Rosenthal said.

“Investing in parks and recreation is the best proactive tool that a municipality can invest in to improve the health and wellbeing of its citizens,” Rosenthal added.

A key feature officials and swimmers in the area are excited about is the new competition pool, which will be used by both North and South Medford high schools.

“The competition pool is a 13-lane pool, it’s something Medford’s never had and it’s going to put us on the map as a destination for swim meets,” Rosenthal said.

“Our high school teams, our swim teams and our water polo teams, have never had a facility to practice in and have a home venue,” Sjothun said, adding, “This is North and South (high schools’) home venue.”

On the event-hosting aspect of Rogue X, city planners anticipate the facility to double as not only a recreational space, but a venue for large events, birthday parties and more.

“The multi-modal component where you can have kids playing and families having birthday parties and have the economy developed through the facility, it’s a really dynamic facility,” said Alex Poythress, opening day attendee and former Medford city councilor.

“My daughter’s asking to have her 10th birthday party here the next month, so I’m looking forward to lots of community and family-friendly activities,” Poythress added.

While the facility is finished, city planners intend to add new features to the 54-acre property including multiple grass fields for soccer and other sports, a playground, a new park and more.

“We still have development on the west side to do and on the east side, and there are plans to finish this sports park here in the next couple years or as soon as possible,” Rosenthal said.

“There are a whole bunch of things that this facility will do that we have no idea, because 30 or 40 years from now we have no idea what the trends are going to be in parks and recreation,” Rosenthal added.

Rogue X will be open from noon to 6 p.m. Sundays, and from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.

Drop-in admission costs between $5 to $8 for kids, adults and seniors, and monthly passes to use the facility range from $24 to $119 depending on individual passes, family passes, military status, senior citizen status and other factors.

Passes can be purchased at cityofmedford.perfectmind.com/25271/Client/MembershipWidget/List?widgetId=3091c3dd-7d42-4017-9f8b-ee1f512f9bb0.

“I’m just so proud of the community, the community deserves a place like this,” Sjothun said, adding, “It will hopefully change people’s mindset of what Medford is and what we can become in the future.”

To learn more about Rogue X, visit www.medfordoregon.gov/Government/Departments/Parks-Recreation-and-Facilities/Rogue-Credit-Union-Community-Complex-Rogue-X/About?transfer=c1767c2e-602d-4ce9-a241-2d9ca0c0cb83.