Crown Center bans running through fountains

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• Everybody out of the fountains! It’s the end of an era at Crown Center.

Gird yourselves for some family outrage. This morning, Crown Center released a brief message on its website, dropping some news sure to upset kids and parents across the metro: Visitors to the shopping complex will no longer be allowed to run through its rows of fountains.

The statement cites increased crowds at Crown Center, which has caused problems. “With the larger crowds, however, has come a growing concern about the safety of adults and children playing in the Crown Center Square Fountain. The increase in visitors also increases the potential for accidents, or for exposure to water-borne health issues in a facility that was never designed or intended to be a public pool,” the release said, in part. Seriously? Did anybody know that these fountains weren’t built specifically as a watery playground?

Another reason given for banning the traditional summer activity is “more family-oriented things to see and do” at Crown Center. Presumably, that’s a reference to the new Legoland Discovery Center and Sea Life Aquarium. But with tickets costing $15-$19 to both of those attractions, it’s hard to argue that they are a decent replacement for free, cooling fountain splashing.

Read the whole statement after the jump.