Bellevue Bay Indoor Waterpark (Highway 34 and 75)

[CBJason]

That's why I was looking at some of the numbers last night as well. And when I saw the cost of the Dallas one at $88 Million for 80,000 sq ft 7-8 years ago, it made me think that the Bellevue one would be significantly less for quality with a $60 Million pricetag. One big difference might be the retractable roof they have in Dallas though. I don't think that the Bellevue one is supposed to have that and that might be a huge cost saving factor there. But I still find it hard to totally fund it and the land purchase for the size for only $60 Million.

Wow! I didn’t realize it had a retractable roof but yes that has to be the difference. Retractable roofs usually get nixed in stadium designs for small market teams due to high initial costs and recurring maintenance costs.

[omaha79]

I live in the area near the Kum and Go on Fairview behind the gas station. i don't own the land behind my house. It's been for sale for years. One day, I will probably have a strip mall in my back yard and I can't control that. It is what it is. Just enjoying the view I have now.

I didn't realize that the land behind the gas station is still vacant. Been a little while since I was back there. Wonder if they will ever get another Subway or sandwich shop on the side of the gas station. We have lived down here since 2013 and I don't think it has been open since then.

Yep. Williamsburg plaza has never materialized and why would it? Half baked developer idea. If you were a business wpuld you want to be there? Only traffic is from the neighborhoods and youd even be blocked from view by the gas station. And zero visibility from 75. Capehart has room for more plazas and the ones there arent full and thats a commercial corridor. Why would anyone build on Fairview and really behind Fairview in a neighborhood

[skinzfan23]

Didn't think about that. The visibility from 75 is next to 0. Now the whole southern edge of Bellevue has developed quite a bit from Fairview Elementary south by adding about 400 homes or so but still not to justify a big development.

[jsheets]

This reminds me of when I had my chocolate shop and a guy approached me at the time saying he was working on building a big indoor waterpark in Bellevue with a hotel attached. He wanted me to put a small chocolate store inside. I believe at the time there was some structure up (cinder block exterior walls perhaps?)... obviously that never came to fruition, but it was probably along the same route. Not sure if the same guy is involved again in this one or not.

Oh yeah, I used to work close to the location of the one planned/started 18+ years ago that never got to the finish line. It was on 370 east of the Lied Center closer to Galvin, if talking about the same project: viewtopic.php?t=2952

[omaha79]

Ultimately, what is everyones temperature on this?

I'm mixed. I've already heard from friends and family, as if I'm somehow the person to talk to about this because I live down here. What I'm hearing from my circle is mostly, "the project no one is asking for." and, "why down there. this is doomed to fail. would be better in Omaha or Gretna. No one is driving down to South Bellevue to go swimming."

I have strong concerns based on the financing and the track record of Bellevue. Also, Omaha is weird and acts like a one streetlight town sometimes. People want big pipe dreams like NHL, MLS, or NBA, but refuse to drive to something if it's more than 10 minutes from their house. They want everything in their backyard. So, I could see some issues with that.

Same time, I'm seeing most of the posts on social media as being very favorable about this. Most are seemingly excited for it. And, we have nothing like this in the area. It's almost embarrassing that a city the size of Omaha still has Fun Plex as the largest ride and waterpark attraction in the entire state and it's been that way for 40 years with only a few water slides added since the early 90's.

Some comments I've read have said, "good, now we can stop going to Great Wolf Lodge." That sticks with me. I read a comment that says that in the wintertime, half the cars in the lot at Great Wolf are Nebraska plates....because we have absolutely nothing like it in the entire state, which is embarrassing. The distance from one's house is stilly to me because this isn't a neighborhood pool. It's not a place you go to every night after work. It's a destination you probably go to 3-5 times a year. People will drive an hour down to Lincoln 7 times a year for Husker Football, but won't drive 25-30 minutes for a waterpark. Worlds of Fun isn't "convenient" to most of the residents of KC, neither is Great Wolf Lodge.

Ultimately, I think it's going to have to have value. If it costs more and provides less than Fun Plex, anyone West of 72nd has no reason to frequent Bellevue in the summer, but during the winter it will provide value to all. If it's cool, it will succeed. The main risk I think Bellevue sees here is if they have success with this, Gretna or elkhorn could build their own and siphon off business.

What say you? Are you driving to Bellevue to take your family to this?

[omaha79]

Didn't think about that. The visibility from 75 is next to 0. Now the whole southern edge of Bellevue has developed quite a bit from Fairview Elementary south by adding about 400 homes or so but still not to justify a big development.

AT this point, they'd be better off making that lot a park or just backfilling it with houses, but any houses wouldn't want to be that close to the gas station, I'd guess.

[skinzfan23]

Since I live 1/2 mile from it, yes

I saw and have heard mostly the exact same as you. I am actually surprised how many people on Facebook were in favor of it. And having recently gone down to GWL in KC in December, I can tell you, it is about 1/2 NE plates. GWL has more to offer in terms of programming and the hotel being attached/associated with the water park so it does have that going for it.

If they can find something to make this just a little unique (new type of slide, lights or other cool feature) there is no reason that people from Des Moines, KC, Sioux Falls and all the rest of NE and IA wouldn't drive to it. People are willing to pay if there is something to draw them. If it ends up being a glorified natatorium, forget it.

As you mentioned, it is a place that you go 3-5 times per year. However, they are going to have to have a regional draw at least somewhat to make this work. GWL wouldn't survive if it were just available to people in the local areas, which is why most are located near major metros or tourist destinations (Wisconsin Dells)

I mentioned it above, but looking at the prices Epic Waters is charging, I don't think it is crazy. The most expensive was $44 for an adult, with at least 2 times per week where they have specials so tickets are in the $15-20 range.

[omaha79]

Since I live 1/2 mile from it, yes

I saw and have heard mostly the exact same as you. I am actually surprised how many people on Facebook were in favor of it. And having recently gone down to GWL in KC in December, I can tell you, it is about 1/2 NE plates. GWL has more to offer in terms of programming and the hotel being attached/associated with the water park so it does have that going for it.

If they can find something to make this just a little unique (new type of slide, lights or other cool feature) there is no reason that people from Des Moines, KC, Sioux Falls and all the rest of NE and IA wouldn't drive to it. People are willing to pay if there is something to draw them. If it ends up being a glorified natatorium, forget it.

As you mentioned, it is a place that you go 3-5 times per year. However, they are going to have to have a regional draw at least somewhat to make this work. GWL wouldn't survive if it were just available to people in the local areas, which is why most are located near major metros or tourist destinations (Wisconsin Dells)

I mentioned it above, but looking at the prices Epic Waters is charging, I don't think it is crazy. The most expensive was $44 for an adult, with at least 2 times per week where they have specials so tickets are in the $15-20 range.

If that's the pricing, they will draw people away from Fun Plex. Fun Plex has gotten so expensive. It will need similar, if not better, levels of slides and attractions. It can't just be a pool. The winter is when it will truly sink or swim though. They need to have a value proposition that makes it a place to go for birthday parties. They need to get people from Southern Iowa, Northern Missouri/Kansas and all of the Omaha metro to go there. the 2,000 a day they are estimating is a big number. I don't think they get to that, but i could be wrong.

[skinzfan23]

I checked online and they had 350,000 their first year. So lets say it was open about 360 days, that would be just under 1,000 per day. I don't know how Bellevue came to that 2,000/day number. There is no way that is going to happen. If they can't get that in the Dallas area, no way Omaha/Bellevue can draw that many consistently.

[ita]

They might be modelling it after Epic Waters, but it's actually going to look like this:

To be honest, I think the Omaha area is long overdue for something like this and I wouldn't care if it looked like that on the outside but I would love it to contain both indoor and outdoor pool areas, with slides, lazy river, drop bucket and a wave pool.

If you have ever been to Mahoney the past few years to the wave pool, you can see there is demand. They have had to shut down the lines because they reached max capacity several times.

I think mine and everyone else's hope is that Bellevue has done the math and is truly dedicated to making this thing as good as it can be.....with their track record though, it is hard to believe it will be.

Although I posted that in jest, now that I think about it the all glass structure is tough to pull off in Nebraska and it will be probably largely enclosed in a traditional commercial building. Thinking about GWL in KC that we visited recently, There is a lot of windows, but it's nothing like the Epic Waters building.

I am kind of bull-ish on it being successful, even as a regional draw. They definitely need hotels and restaurants to really make it work, but that should not be an issue if the concept they finalize is really unique.

I was looking into the largest indoor waterparks in the US, and Tropic Falls in Alabama was on the list. They broke ground in 2020 and opened last year. It's 100k indoor space with some outdoor amenities, including a large pool. Looks similar to Epic Waters, but "only" cost $70 million. Might be a good comparison for what we get in Bellevue.

https://businessalabama.com/the-park-at ... ater-park/

[Garrett]

They might be modelling it after Epic Waters, but it's actually going to look like this:

To be honest, I think the Omaha area is long overdue for something like this and I wouldn't care if it looked like that on the outside but I would love it to contain both indoor and outdoor pool areas, with slides, lazy river, drop bucket and a wave pool.

If you have ever been to Mahoney the past few years to the wave pool, you can see there is demand. They have had to shut down the lines because they reached max capacity several times.

I think mine and everyone else's hope is that Bellevue has done the math and is truly dedicated to making this thing as good as it can be.....with their track record though, it is hard to believe it will be.

Although I posted that in jest, now that I think about it the all glass structure is tough to pull off in Nebraska and it will be probably largely enclosed in a traditional commercial building. Thinking about GWL in KC that we visited recently, There is a lot of windows, but it's nothing like the Epic Waters building.

I am kind of bull-ish on it being successful, even as a regional draw. They definitely need hotels and restaurants to really make it work, but that should not be an issue if the concept they finalize is really unique.

I was looking into the largest indoor waterparks in the US, and Tropic Falls in Alabama was on the list. They broke ground in 2020 and opened last year. It's 100k indoor space with some outdoor amenities, including a large pool. Looks similar to Epic Waters, but "only" cost $70 million. Might be a good comparison for what we get in Bellevue.

https://businessalabama.com/the-park-at ... ater-park/

Same style of structure and a retractable roof just like Epic Waters too. Interesting. Is there a connection or is this just how they’re built right now?

As for other critiques, I think the location is fine enough. Being closer to I-80 would probably be better, but it’s enough of a destination and doubt there’s a lot of people who would spontaneously stop their road trip just because they saw it. I’ve seen a lot of comments asking why it’s not in Gretna or Omaha itself, and the answer is just a clear “because it’s the city of Bellevue that’s building it”

[skinzfan23]

I was looking into the largest indoor waterparks in the US, and Tropic Falls in Alabama was on the list. They broke ground in 2020 and opened last year. It's 100k indoor space with some outdoor amenities, including a large pool. Looks similar to Epic Waters, but "only" cost $70 million. Might be a good comparison for what we get in Bellevue.

https://businessalabama.com/the-park-at ... ater-park/

Thanks for finding that....that is very similar to the one in TX. That one also said they had a 30,000 sq ft wave pool. The one at Mahoney is only 13,500 sq ft and fun plex. The largest wave pool in the Midwest is Poseidon's Rage at Mt Olympus in the Dells, it is 50,000. So overall, this might actually be possible for Bellevue to pull off.

[ita]

I was looking into the largest indoor waterparks in the US, and Tropic Falls in Alabama was on the list. They broke ground in 2020 and opened last year. It's 100k indoor space with some outdoor amenities, including a large pool. Looks similar to Epic Waters, but "only" cost $70 million. Might be a good comparison for what we get in Bellevue.

https://businessalabama.com/the-park-at ... ater-park/

Thanks for finding that....that is very similar to the one in TX. That one also said they had a 30,000 sq ft wave pool. The one at Mahoney is only 13,500 sq ft and fun plex. The largest wave pool in the Midwest is Poseidon's Rage at Mt Olympus in the Dells, it is 50,000. So overall, this might actually be possible for Bellevue to pull off.

Here's another more recent indoor pool facility under construction in Waukee, IA. It's a ~60k indoor pool facility for Waukee Community School District. The construction budget was $17 million. I think the Bellevue project could share overall structural elements with this project. I think $60 million can get a decent facility, based on these couple examples.

https://projects.constructconnect.com/d ... c=IA-50263

[S.O.Boy]

I think this is wonderful attraction for Bellevue. Attendance of 2000 a day sounds very reasonable. I can see other development for the area.

[ita]

More details from owh article:

https://omaha.com/news/local/business/b ... the-latest

The heated, year-round aquatic facility is planned northwest of the U.S. Highway 34 and U.S. Highway 75 interchange, along with three hotels.

The waterpark would have a retractable roof and include an arcade for gamers, said Harrison Johnson, Bellevue director of community development.
...
The city plans to have American Resort Management, which operates Epicwaters in Texas and waterparks in Florida and California, manage the Bellevue waterpark, he said.
...
City Administrator Jim Ristow said that would include $5 million to purchase the property and $55 million to build the waterpark.

[Coyote]

Plans revealed to build massive water park, hotel attraction in Bellevue



Bellevue is getting a new regional attraction.

[nebugeater]

I think this is wonderful attraction for Bellevue. Attendance of 2000 a day sounds very reasonable. I can see other development for the area.

2000 a day midweek during the school year is a stretch for me. To get that average it would require LARGE numbers on the weekends and summer days. The Summer days will have other compution too. Water or otherwise.

[thenewguy]

I think it looks super cool. Yes, it's on the edge of the Metro, but probably hard to find enough land at a reasonable price in the city proper. I still want a full scale outdoor water park on the scale of Aquatica or Wet N Wild. Maybe Nebraska Crossing still has promise for that.

I agree with a lot of you on the casino/horse track. Scrap that as it doesn't really go well with the waterpark and the family vibe. I would rather see indoor karting or indoor adventure park next to it.

https://bolderadventurepark.com/ Also located in Dallas

that place looks freakin awesome! I am totally goin there if I'm in that area

[Dusty]

I think it looks super cool. Yes, it's on the edge of the Metro, but probably hard to find enough land at a reasonable price in the city proper. I still want a full scale outdoor water park on the scale of Aquatica or Wet N Wild. Maybe Nebraska Crossing still has promise for that.

I agree with a lot of you on the casino/horse track. Scrap that as it doesn't really go well with the waterpark and the family vibe. I would rather see indoor karting or indoor adventure park next to it.

https://bolderadventurepark.com/ Also located in Dallas

that place looks freakin awesome! I am totally goin there if I'm in that area

My point was to stick to a common theme. If you want to attract families, then make the other attractions family oriented as well. Something that singles would enjoy, but families too. Something you can run year round. Ideally, you want 2 or 3 main anchors as attractions. Then you can tie it all together with hotels/lodges and restaurants. This would make it a fun spot as a staycation for Omaha residents.

I agree this is not as far to drive as people think. I really don't see the difference as someone in Midtown to drive to Gretna/Ashland for a park out there.

[ChadJK]

Didn't Bellevue choke when it tried to put an indoor waterpark where the Days Inn/Quality Inn used to be off Harlan Drive? All sorts of zoning roadblocks and permit issues which led to investors pulling out (it was a years long drama that somebody other than me probably knows more about). Bellevue didn't exactly set it up for success.

[omaha79]

I think it looks super cool. Yes, it's on the edge of the Metro, but probably hard to find enough land at a reasonable price in the city proper. I still want a full scale outdoor water park on the scale of Aquatica or Wet N Wild. Maybe Nebraska Crossing still has promise for that.

I agree with a lot of you on the casino/horse track. Scrap that as it doesn't really go well with the waterpark and the family vibe. I would rather see indoor karting or indoor adventure park next to it.

https://bolderadventurepark.com/ Also located in Dallas

that place looks freakin awesome! I am totally goin there if I'm in that area

My point was to stick to a common theme. If you want to attract families, then make the other attractions family oriented as well. Something that singles would enjoy, but families too. Something you can run year round. Ideally, you want 2 or 3 main anchors as attractions. Then you can tie it all together with hotels/lodges and restaurants. This would make it a fun spot as a staycation for Omaha residents.

I agree this is not as far to drive as people think. I really don't see the difference as someone in Midtown to drive to Gretna/Ashland for a park out there.

It's not a far drive at all. I live near Kennedy and Fairview. You can get from roughly 72nd and I-80 to my house, and hence roughly this waterpark, in about 15-17 minutes depending on traffic. Anyone on the East side of Omaha or CB won't have much of a further drive to this than they would Fun PLex. It's just getting around the mentality that it's "sooooo far away." Even if you're in Papillion, you're talking about a 20 minute drive. La Vista is about 25. Gretna is 30ish depending on traffic. To go to something you're going to hit just a few times a year, this isn't a huge ask.

[thenewguy]

I think it looks super cool. Yes, it's on the edge of the Metro, but probably hard to find enough land at a reasonable price in the city proper. I still want a full scale outdoor water park on the scale of Aquatica or Wet N Wild. Maybe Nebraska Crossing still has promise for that.

I agree with a lot of you on the casino/horse track. Scrap that as it doesn't really go well with the waterpark and the family vibe. I would rather see indoor karting or indoor adventure park next to it.

https://bolderadventurepark.com/ Also located in Dallas

that place looks freakin awesome! I am totally goin there if I'm in that area

My point was to stick to a common theme. If you want to attract families, then make the other attractions family oriented as well. Something that singles would enjoy, but families too. Something you can run year round. Ideally, you want 2 or 3 main anchors as attractions. Then you can tie it all together with hotels/lodges and restaurants. This would make it a fun spot as a staycation for Omaha residents.

I agree this is not as far to drive as people think. I really don't see the difference as someone in Midtown to drive to Gretna/Ashland for a park out there.

no, i know, i gotcha- i was just sayin that since that place already exists, i'm gonna look it up if i'm down there. More of a sidebar statement than anything

[Dusty]

Do you think they will extend Fort Crook Rd to create better connections to this area? Once you pass the base, it ends in some neighborhood. It wouldn't take much to extend a Bellevue bus line to connect Offutt AFB and this new development.

I know, I know....my bus brain never shuts off. lol

[omaha79]

Do you think they will extend Fort Crook Rd to create better connections to this area? Once you pass the base, it ends in some neighborhood. It wouldn't take much to extend a Bellevue bus line to connect Offutt AFB and this new development.

I know, I know....my bus brain never shuts off. lol

I've been thinking about that since I moved down here 3 years ago. I'd say when and if the NC3 project breaks ground you'd have to. That would be when they'd do the infrastructure too.

I think I also remember the Normandy Hills people were pretty mad as well a few years ago. When they modernized Highway 75 from being 2 lane road to 4 lane with interchanges at Fairview and further south, they made Ft. Crook the only way in and out of that neighborhood. I think it came up in the city council too that the residents weren't happy as they took away direct access from highway 75. You used to be able to turn in there from the highway, now you can't.

[skinzfan23]

I just saw an article explaining more details from the Mayor and city council as to their decision to move forward. There was also a link to the management company. For some reason I can't find it anywhere, but I did go to their website (American Resort Management) and they do have a pretty extensive portfolio of managing these waterparks, So that is good to see:



The article did state that the city is working with the county since they are in charge of that portion of the intersection for installing traffic lights. It also mentioned that the land owner owns I believe about 70 acres on the sight and they need 30 for the water park and they have some verbal agreements in place.

The waterpark will have an attached hotel that will be built and paid for by the management company. The city is also looking to add an additional 2 hotels to the property possibly.

One other thing to add, the mayor stated that the other waterpark off of Hwy 370 was not backed or funded by the city. That was a private developer that tried to raise funds by pre-selling season passes but when they couldn't raise enough, the project stalled.

I am glad to hear about that b/c so many people have information but it seems its just all so jumbled and incorrect. Again the city doesn't have the best track record to projects, but great to hear from the mayor directly how these things played out and the plan for the path ahead.

[nativeomahan]

1. This is a very ambitious project for a small city such as Bellevue to propose.

2. I find the location very curious. It’s tucked basically into an invisible spot that not even neighboring subdivisions can see, much less traffic on highways 75 or 34. That intersection can be scary to use right now, even in broad daylight. It was atrociously “designed”. It should have been a full clover-leaf style interchange.

3. Basically there are no neighboring subdivisions. Maybe in 25 years…

4. Trying to get West Omahans to even go downtown for dinner seems to be a challenge. Asking them to drive 10 additional miles to this location (that probably none of them could find on a map) seems a huge leap of faith, IMO.

4. I do hope that this can be built and successfully operated. To say I have my doubts is an understatement. We can all tune in in about 2026 and see who’s right and who’s wrong.

[Brad]

4. Trying to get West Omahans to even go downtown for dinner seems to be a challenge. Asking them to drive 10 additional miles to this location (that probably none of them could find on a map) seems a huge leap of faith, IMO.

We drive to Fremont to go to the water park. They have a great water park and its only like $7 per person.

[almighty_tuna]

4. Trying to get West Omahans to even go downtown for dinner seems to be a challenge. Asking them to drive 10 additional miles to this location (that probably none of them could find on a map) seems a huge leap of faith, IMO.

We drive to Fremont to go to the water park. They have a great water park and its only like $7 per person.

That little spot is a blast! Easy to get to, reasonable price, and the kids love it.

[nativeomahan]

From my recollection the Fremont water park is basically only open about 2 months each summer. We’ve driven by it in mid August and it was already closed.
And while $7 seems like a bargain, does anyone think that the Bellevue place will offer prices anywhere close to that price? My guess is it will have to charge a lot more per person in order to turn a profit. Maybe they will offer seasonal price plans, like Worlds of Fun does.

[almighty_tuna]

does anyone think that the Bellevue place will offer prices anywhere close to that price?

I mean, not to be blunt, but duh.

[ita]

does anyone think that the Bellevue place will offer prices anywhere close to that price?

I mean, not to be blunt, but duh.

Indoor water park with attached arcade and hotel accommodations, this is a Great Wolf Lodge-lite. There is little chance this will be less than $20/person.

[omaha79]

does anyone think that the Bellevue place will offer prices anywhere close to that price?

I mean, not to be blunt, but duh.

Indoor water park with attached arcade and hotel accommodations, this is a Great Wolf Lodge-lite. There is little chance this will be less than $20/person.

At this point, that's still an absolute steal, even if it's $25 compared to Fun Plex at $34.99 on weekdays, $39.99 on weekends. You're talking almost $200 for a family of 4 just to walk in the door on a weekend. It's only $2 less for children or seniors. The best you can get there is the evening 4pm-7pm discount at $24.99...for three whole hours.

I like Fun Plex. It holds sentimental value to me from when I was a teenager there in the 90's, but flat out, that facility isn't worth that kind of charge. This is robbery, pure and simple based on the fact they can. Where else you going to go? Hop in the car and go down to KC? Worlds of Fun/Oceans of Fun is actually cheaper at $34.99. This place isn't Worlds of Fun and never was. Adventureland is $44.99. The fact that they can charge these prices is insane and exists solely based on it being a Monopoly. Any competition would be welcome. Yes, they've put in some new water slides. It's a nice little water park, but really not worth $40. The rides are a joke and tacked on just so they can call it a "theme park". They haven't added a new ride in almost 20 years and most travelling carnivals have more.

My hope is that the Bellevue water park has lower prices and forces Fun Plex to re-evaluate their pricing structure. Competition is a good thing.

[ita]

My hope is that the Bellevue water park has lower prices and forces Fun Plex to re-evaluate their pricing structure. Competition is a good thing.

This is a really good point. If the Bellevue project has attractions that give Fun Plex a run for it's money and undercuts the price of admission significantly, I hope it pushes Fun Plex to lower prices, or even better, add new attractions to justify the pricing.

[CBJason]

As a non-local who comes back to visit every other year or so, I’m fine with this being in Bellevue. I just want something like this and hope it works out for them. However, I can’t help but wonder if this would best be put out with the NEX development. Actually, the OWA in Alabama that Ita mentioned would be great out there, not just the indoor waterpark but a small amusement park with it. Add to that what Dusty mentioned about the indoor Bolder adventure park, who’s co-creator is youtuber Unspeakable. You’d have a great entertainment area for locals and travelers.

[omaha79]

As a non-local who comes back to visit every other year or so, I’m fine with this being in Bellevue. I just want something like this and hope it works out for them. However, I can’t help but wonder if this would best be put out with the NEX development. Actually, the OWA in Alabama that Ita mentioned would be great out there, not just the indoor waterpark but a small amusement park with it. Add to that what Dusty mentioned about the indoor Bolder adventure park, who’s co-creator is youtuber Unspeakable. You’d have a great entertainment area for locals and travelers.

The reality is Gretna just spent a massive amount of money on a community center/pool/lake along with investments in NEX and building a new middle school and high school that puts any school I've ever attended to shame.

We can all make pie in the sky statements about wanting it closer to your own house so you don't have to drive, etc. But, end of the day, this is Bellevue trying to carve their niche and bring in revenue. There has been zero talk about Gretna building a project like this. None. Do we even have any idea if Gretna wants to take something like this on? Maybe one day if Bellevue is successful with theirs, it could make sense to have a second on the other side of town, but that time is not now. And Bellevue certainly isn't going to pay to help Gretna enrich their town further. So, I'd ask for people to come up with realistic solutions that are actually viable vs. what's generally been on here which is a chorus of "it's too far from where people want to be!" and, "this would have been better in my neighborhood!"

In reality, I don't see "out of towners" being that much more satisfied with it in Gretna vs. Bellevue. So, when I hear these arguments, I mostly think it's just to placate West O people more than anything. If by out of towners you mean people from Lincoln or Western Nebraska, that's fairish, but if they care coming to Omaha, they are probably staying downtown anyway. Those coming in for Berkshire, the zoo, or CWS that are truly out of towners aren't driving to Gretna for a water park anyway. Just not happening. Out of towners can also include SW Iowa, NW Missouri, Southern Nebraska, and Northern Kansas. Bellevue is certainly more convenient for many of them.

[skinzfan23]

From my recollection the Fremont water park is basically only open about 2 months each summer. We’ve driven by it in mid August and it was already closed.
And while $7 seems like a bargain, does anyone think that the Bellevue place will offer prices anywhere close to that price? My guess is it will have to charge a lot more per person in order to turn a profit. Maybe they will offer seasonal price plans, like Worlds of Fun does.

I thought I mentioned it here but the one in Dallas charges the following:

weekdays: $44-49 for adults, under 48in is $5 cheaper
Saturdays and Sundays: $54, $5 cheaper for kids

but they have special deals as well:

Thursdays (epic carload deal) $99 for 6 guests = $16.50/person
Family Fun Fridays (admission for 4, 1 whole pizza, 4 soft drinks, 2 $10 game cards) for $139
BOGO Monday: $20 for first person $10 for 2nd person (only 4-8 pm)
Twilight admission after 5 pm on select days $20/person

For Grand Prairie residents (the town its in)

weekdays: $27
Saturdays and Sundays: $34

Annual passes are $239/person
resident annual pass: $199/person


I would assume the prices in Bellevue would be similar, maybe a little bit cheaper but probably close to those numbers. I am glad they have the discounted nights as well. The regular pricing doesn't seem too crazy considering the price of everything else these days, but the discounted times and days will allow families to be able to afford it more than 1-2 times per year.

[skinzfan23]

Finally found the article I was talking about a few days ago:

A More In-Depth Look at Bellevue’s Annouced Waterpark: Q&A with Mayor Hike

BT: What were the beginnings of this idea, to bring a regional waterpark to Bellevue?

MH: Serious talks started a little over 2 years ago. We knew what we had in mind and what we wanted to do in regard to bringing some kind of waterpark in. We started talking with several waterparks but we honed in on American Resorts Management. They were looking for a location in this region and we kind of got lucky with that. They could go anywhere, but they loved the location we were talking about. As we got into talks with American Resort Management, everything clicked. We had a 3rd party feasibility study done to basically figure out if a waterpark would even work here. It was a very thorough report that concluded that a waterpark would do very well here.

BT: Let’s discuss pools and this waterpark. An aquatic study was done in Bellevue where residents generally favored a waterpark vs opening a couple of neighborhood pools. What were the city’s thoughts on this?

MH: It costs around $6-$7 million dollars to build a new city pool that would be open around 9 weeks a year. We started discussing the benefits of, instead of building a couple of pools, we could look at building a regional waterpark that would bring attention to our area, money to our city, provide jobs, and improve the quality of our recreational life in Bellevue… and have it paid for…. instead of building a pool with $7 million dollars of taxpayer money that would only be open for nine weeks of the year.

BT: Are there plans to address the anticipated heavy increase in traffic to that area, including the National Cyber Defense building which is set to be built on the other side of Highway 34? Have there been discussions of extra lanes, turn lanes, street lights, traffic control lights, etc? If so, will these infrastructure concerns be addressed concurrently, as the park is being built?

MH: We have started talks with the state and the county. The state handles things on the east side of Highway 75 while the county handles the decisions on the west side of Highway 75, which is where the park would be located. We have had some planning sessions with the county. There are some pretty major plans for Plattview Road in the future to make that a southern bypass, so they are hoping to have interchanges on that road. This may end up being the only lighted intersection on each side of Highway 34.


BT: Speaking of hotels, will a hotel be built at the same time as the waterpark? Or how will that work?

MH: There is a hotel that comes with the waterpark. American Resort Management is building that on their own dime and connecting it to the waterpark. It will end up being around a $25 million dollar hotel. We are talking with several other hotels right now that have expressed interest, but the American Resort Management Hotel is for sure going to be built as part of this project.

BT: So when all is said and done, who owns the park, who will run the park, and who will make decisions in regard to the park (maintenance, upgrades, possible expansion, etc.)?

MH: The park will be owned by the city of Bellevue and then we have a contract with American Resort Management to run and manage it. It’s a five-year contract. They have an impeccable track record, and we don’t anticipate it, but in five years, if we want to part ways and find someone else to run it, or if they want to part ways, that option is there. However, keep in mind that they will have a $25 million dollar hotel attached to the park, so we feel they will do everything possible to stay.

BT: Let’s say this takes off and exceeds projected expectations. Will there be room for growth down the road?

MH: There will be room. We will be saving some extra space for a possible natatorium which would include deep diving wells and an Olympic-sized pool, plus seating for around 3,000 spectators. We wanted to include the natatorium with this project initially but it would add another $30 million to the cost and the revenue projections wouldn’t support it at this time.

BT: What else would you like to share about the park?

MH: American Resort Management is great at having special days and special events at their facilities. They offer special rates, special days, and special events for groups like seniors or those with developmental disabilities – a lot of times, even including transportation to and from the facility.

The park will also have an outdoor pool, which would obviously be seasonal. It will have a wave pool indoors and a separate pool outdoor. The connected hotel may also have a pool of its own.

[skinzfan23]

Here is another article talking about the management company:

American Resort Management ‘Elated’ to Create Indoor Waterpark ‘Among the Best in America’

Coleman elaborated on why his team chose Bellevue, “Our senior executives had identified this region as one of the best opportunities in the United States. We have spent time in Bellevue and are excited to be part of a world-class project that will be a catalyst for future growth. Throughout the operating season, we will routinely draw visitors from up to 5 hours away. That has us drawing from key communities in Nebraska as well as neighboring states.”

One of the city council members on why they voted yes

Casey also discussed doubts he had in the beginning. “To be honest, going into my first detailed meeting regarding the plan to build not just the waterpark but the Entertainment District as a whole, I was skeptical,” shared Casey. “What really sold me on the waterpark was the extremely detailed and thorough work by the administrative staff, the focus on what the citizens expressed in recent surveys, that they wanted to see in the city, and the staff’s foresight to explore and respond to every possible ‘What if?’ regarding the project. The icing on the cake was that they found that the venue will not only pay for itself through the revenue stream it produces but will also enhance funding for our existing parks and, even conservatively speaking, provide property tax relief. My personal research and investigation, along with my confidence in our city staff, made voting ‘Yes’ an easy choice.”

Here is a link to the agreement between the city and the management company:

[almighty_tuna]

Kudos to the behind the scene staff for really detailing out their paperwork!

[skinzfan23]

I was actually really impressed with the questions they asked....clearly this wasn't the OWH reporting. They even asked a few tough direct questions about the property and the current ownership of it.

I still don't know what to think overall, but all of this due diligence by the city makes me feel a lot better. It is also helpful to know that the city wasn't part of the previous hotel waterpark project that failed. I do know that they in fact did send out the survey 1-2 years ago. I completed it, but didn't think anything would come of it.

I remember the questions they asked:

How often would you visit a pool facility, what would you be willing to spend, how important a nice facility would be to you.

So although the bond vote seemed really rushed, they have been doing the behind-the-scenes work as well.