Big Splash is for sale, with the owner apparently losing his appetite to redevelop the site and his lenders seemingly losing patience with the whole saga.
The Save Big Splash group says this is a "significant moment" in the campaign to save the Macquarie water park.
"This is a significant moment and the community should be proud," a spokesperson said on Thursday night.
"The slides are staying, the lease conditions transfer to any new buyer and the door is now open for the right operator to come in and give Big Splash the future it deserves."
Consultants Purdon Associates revealed to The Canberra Times late on Thursday that the Macquarie water park was up for grabs, releasing a statement on behalf of the owners,
"The first mortgagee will soon begin to market the site for sale as there are no redevelopment plans associated with the site or its sale," a spokesperson said.
A sale price has not been revealed.
The ACT government was asked if it would buy the water park but did not give a definite answer saying it would "await the detail about the sale before it forms any further position".
This is not the finish line. It is the starting gun.
The water park is expected to be sold with the slides intact - and with the current lease conditions attached.
Purdon Associates said the owners of the water park would still be working to meet the November 1 deadline to get the 50-metre pool open to the public, as directed by Access Canberra.
"Now that the new site fencing and general clean-up is complete, all effort is focused on making the main pool operational by 1 November 2026, in line with public commitments and Access Canberra's conditions," a statement read.
"To make it operational and to ensure that it is safe, temporary ticketing, change rooms and food service facilities will be installed.
"The slides and existing buildings will not be demolished, but a new internal fence will safely separate the main pool from these areas.
"The first mortgagee will soon begin to market the site for sale as is - there are no redevelopment plans associated with the site or its sale.
"Work to reopen the site by 1 November 2026 will continue in parallel with, and regardless of, the sale timetable and the current lease obligations will apply to any purchaser.
"All parties with an interest in the facility are encouraged to engage in the sale process. A new website will be in place shortly and will be used to provide regular updates between now and 1 November 2026."
A sale could spark a new beginning for the water park.
The Save Big Splash community group hopes a new operator will now step forward and run it as a successful aquatics facility once again.
"There are people out there with the experience, the passion and the connection to this place to make that happen. We are calling on them to step forward and engage in the sale process. This is not the finish line. It is the starting gun," the spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for the government said it would be watching the sale process unfold and making sure that the 50-metre pool did re-open.
"The government notes the update and the affirmation that the work to open the main pool by 1 November 2026 is continuing," a statement read.
"The government has been clear that the timeline for opening the pool is not an aspiration. It is a condition set by the independent regulator. The government expects it to be met.
"The government will continue to measure progress based on what occurs on the ground through ongoing monitoring.
"At this stage, this is a commercial process being managed by the mortgagee and current owners. The government would encourage all interested parties to engage in the sale process and to bring this much loved recreational asset back to life.
"The government welcomes the commitment that no demolition is on the cards, including through the sale process.
"The government will await the detail about the sale before it forms any further position."
Translink Management Group, headed by Songnan "Morris" Huang, bought the lease to the Big Splash site in 2021, for $7.5 million.
The water park failed to open to the public for the 2024-25 or 2025-26 summer seasons and was left abandoned, with no maintenance apparently done to the infrastructure and the site left open to vandals.
Lenders took possession of the park in January 2026.
Sport and Recreation Minister Yvette Berry told a public meeting in February 2026 that she wanted the water park to reopen and "nothing was off the table" when considering how that could be done.
Translink Management Group had engaged Purdon to represent it as it explored development ideas on the site, including some kind of hotel, which is allowed under the current lease.
But it's understood Mr Huang had no financial means to pursue his plans. He is understood to be in China. He was also up against a government that had ruled out allowing residential development on the site.
The ACT government has said it would not allow the site to be rezoned for residential use, with a motion to the Assembly being carried unanimously.
"We can categorically rule that out," Chief Minister Andrew Barr said in November, 2025, responding to any proposal to allow housing on the site.
And just in May 2026, the Save Big Splash group organised a "big hug" of the water park, people standing around its perimeter to show their support for the facility.
