Schlitterbahn Vacation Village to cover 300-plus acres

$300 million resort complex, covered River Walk
development proposed for Wyandotte County

KANSAS CITY, KS – A $300 million year-round family destination resort complex and covered River Walk is being proposed to be located in Kansas City, Kansas.

The 300-plus acre development, which will be known as Schlitterbahn Vacation Village, will be developed in an area just east of Kansas Speedway and Village West. The area encompasses State Avenue (south), Parallel Parkway (north), Interstate 435 (west) and 94^th Street (east). The area includes the current Wyandotte County Fairgrounds and the Unified Government annex.

“We believe this development will be a tremendous fit for our community as a destination tourist attraction,” said Mayor/CEO Joe Reardon. “The projections indicate that this development will provide a significant economic boost to Wyandotte County, creating thousands of jobs and millions of dollars of tax revenue to our community.”

As part of the process, Mayor Reardon and the Board of Commissioners will consider a recommendation by County Administrator Dennis Hays to schedule a public hearing on the development. The Unified Government will also conduct meetings with citizens who live around the proposed site to discuss their issues, including a good traffic management plan.

Mayor Reardon added: “I look forward to working with the community to secure this destination development. I want to assure the community that eminent domain (i.e. condemnation) will not be a part of this process.”

Mayor Reardon and Unified Government staff has met with officials from the State of Kansas and the Wyandotte County Fair Board. Both entities, the Mayor said, support moving the project forward.

“The Fair Board fully supports this development and looks forward to working in partnership with the Unified Government,” said Gary Grable, treasurer of the board. “This is a tremendous opportunity for the community and it would ensure a quality venue for our county fair for many generations to come.” 

The projected economic impact of the Schlitterbahn Vacation Village includes: 

• Over 3,000 new jobs will be created with the combined estimated annual salary and benefits to total over $90 million

• An estimated $400 million impact will occur during construction in the Kansas City area and support 2,200 construction related jobs and $200 million in salaries during the development and construction of the project.

The Schlitterbahn Vacation Village development is comprised of multiple entertainment venues connected by a Transportainment River System. In the Vacation Village, manmade rivers carry guests between lodging units and a large waterpark, year-round interactive marine park and a covered River Walk with shops and restaurants. The project will be the first expansion outside of Texas for the popular Schlitterbahn group of waterparks.

Widely recognized as the first family of American waterparks, Schlitterbahn currently operates two waterparks in New Braunfels and South Padre Island, Texas.  Schlitterbahn’s third Texas waterpark opens this winter on Galveston Island. Schlitterbahn Vacation Village could be open approximately 36 months after the agreement and financing are finalized.  Design and engineering is expected to take about 12 months; construction could be completed 24 months later.

The project will include:

• A mile-long River Walk will feature destination shopping, dining and entertainment centered in a covered, year-round environment.

• a large Interactive Marine Park with salt water lagoons for snorkeling, helmet diving and touch pools.

• a variety of Lodging facilities will be available, including a 300-room hotel, Treehaus Resort with elevated pods and waterfront cabins, all integrated with the waterpark attractions.

• a Schlitterbahn Waterpark will be one of the world’s largest tubing parks with miles of interconnected rivers and signature attractions such as the Master Blaster® uphill water coaster and Torrent River®.

• a state-of-the-art Transportainment® river system that transports guests around the complex on water.  Transportainment rivers are designed to combine the elements of transportation, sport and entertainment, while minimizing the time park guests spend standing in lines.

This year, Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resort earned its eighth straight Golden Ticket award for America’s Best Waterpark in the annual Amusement Today poll of amusement park fans.  The park’s Master Blaster uphill water coaster earned this year’s Golden Ticket for Best Waterpark Ride and the park also received a Golden Ticket for Best Waterpark Landscaping.

Schlitterbahn’s third waterpark is now under construction on Galveston Island, south of Houston, Texas. In addition to these three waterparks, the Schlitterbahn® organization brings decades of worldwide development expertise to the project. One of Schlitterbahn’s owners, Jeff Henry, is a principal in Henry, Schooley & Associates, which is consulting on a number of major destination resort projects currently under development, including Atlantis III in Nassau, Bahamas, Atlantis Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and DestiNY USA in Syracuse, New York. Sister company NBGS International, founded by Henry in New Braunfels, has been a leading supplier of attractions for many of the groundbreaking waterpark resorts in the United States for more than a decade.

For more information on Schlitterbahn please go to their website: http://www.schlitterbahn.com