News broke Tuesday night that the city council had unanimously approved a $60 million dollar bond for financing a waterpark. Not just a standard, run-of-the-mill waterpark, but a 100,000 square foot, world-class, regional waterpark. There is a lot of excitement behind this announcement, but also a lot of questions. We sat down with Bellevue Mayor Rusty Hike to get more information about some of the questions floating around town.
Bellevue Times: “I’ll believe it when I see it” has been heard a bit in relation to this project. This sentiment comes from decades of other proposed ‘Big Ideas’ coming to our town that never came to be. Although nothing is 100% positive, how sure of a thing is this?
Mayor Hike: It’s 99% for sure. The council approved the bond and construction of the waterpark is funded. I don’t know what could happen to stop it now. We have good working relationships with the waterpark management team down in Texas and a good working relationship with the land owner. He owns 70 acres on the northwest corner of Highway 75 and Highway 34. We would need 30 acres for this project and we have some verbal agreements in place.
BT: That leads right into the next question. Do you own the land the waterpark would be built on?
MH: No. However, to the north there are two parcels with a home on each one. One was my childhood home and the other was my uncle’s home.
BT: How about the “other waterpark” from years ago… the one on Harlan Drive that got about 10% built and then failed and was torn down?
MH: Sure. To be clear, the city of Bellevue was not involved in that project. An individual came up with the idea, built a little of it, and then was going to finance the rest of it by pre-selling seasonal passes. When the passes didn’t sell enough, the project stopped.
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.
Our goal is to make this entertainment district very functional and access is huge for us. We also want to make sure it’s connectable so that hotels have a corridor of some kind connecting to the waterpark and parking so that when it’s -17 degrees, you can walk a block and never go outside.
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 let’s talk about finances for a bit. The $60 million dollar bond that was approved by the city council… what does that cover? Does it cover the entire building of the waterpark?
MH: There is roughly $5 million set aside to purchase, grade, and prepare the land and the other $55 million to build the park.
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.
American Resort Management will be running the park, staffing it, and making all of the daily decisions.
[Editor’s Note: Here is a link to the 47 page agreement between the city of Bellevue and American Resort Management: CLICK HERE]
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: It has been mentioned that the Good Life Transformational Projects Act will be used to help pay off the $60 million dollar bond. According to the Nebraska Department of Economic Development website, the purpose of the act is to promote and develop the general and economic welfare of the state and its communities by providing support for unique Nebraska projects that will attract new industries and employment opportunities and further grow and strengthen Nebraska’s retail, entertainment, and tourism industries. What can you tell us about that and how it relates to this project?
MH: We will be applying with the state and once it is approved, they will drop the sales tax that they normally collect in half – which would amount to 2.75%. That money, instead of going to the state, will be used to pay the bonds, in addition to waterpark profits. The ‘Good Life District’ would be a zone – a defined area that would basically end up being the four corners of Highway 75 and Highway 34 and then the port authority, which would be around where Highway 34 meets the river.
BT: Is there any guarantee that 5-10 years from now a state senator may propose a bill to remove the Good Life District Transformational Act?
MH: I’m not sure how they would do it. The act, as written, guarantees the Good Life District for 25 years.
BT: What happens to the 2.75% Good Life District money *after* the bond is paid off?
MH: It goes back into the entertainment district.
BT: It has been mentioned that residents of the city of Bellevue would receive a discount. What can you tell us about that?
MH: So the city and American Resort Management will work on that together, coming up with discount pricing. There are a lot of variables involved in that and more information will be available later.
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.
We are very hopeful that this will end up being a preferred destination for individuals and families when they come to Omaha for things like the Berkshire Hathaway convention, the College World Series, or a trip to the Henry Doorly Zoo… we hope that this will be a very viable spot for them to stay.
Editor’s Note: There is a companion article containing interviews with Richard Coleman, CEO of American Resort Management, Bellevue City Councilman Rich Casey, Bellevue Chamber President Diane Bruce, and several Bellevue business owners who all grew up here. That companion piece can be found by clicking HERE.
Pictures provided by the city of Bellevue and American Resort Management
