The American Heartland Theme Park and Resort

[shavethewhales]

Over a month later, and still no action or firm statements from Mansion Group. https://www.kjrh.com/news/local-news...ita-theme-park

Basically, from the whispers here and there, it sounds like their whole plan is completely on fire now and they are struggling to figure out a real path forward. Some of it needs to wait on getting funding for the off-site utilities from the state. That was always a foreseeable delay, just like the floodplain issues. I imagine Mansion Group is very humbled now. Sounds like they still want to move forward, but they are slowly coming to the realization that this will be a 5 year minimum process, not a 2 year one like they originally thought.

I imagine the RV project COULD kick back off this year and be completed relatively fast, but since the success of that project hinges on there eventually getting the rest of the project developed, it would make more sense to wait until next year when they know they are able to move forward with the theme park. It would suck to get the RV park built only for the theme park to stay in limbo or get canceled.

[bombermwc]

So as we all thought, pie in the sky BS was just that.....

[Jake]

lol

[Pete]

^

Sorry, I deleted that 'apology' because I thought it was new, but it was from May 31st.

The Oklahoma had a story on it today and then I realized it's all very old news.

[PhiAlpha]

It would be very stereotypical "Oklahoma" of this whole thing if after all the song and dance, all we end up with is a trailer park LOL

[FighttheGoodFight]

I don't think anyone thought this would be more than an RV park from the start.

[shavethewhales]

Various news outlets have been running stories on this lately, giving "updates" that point out that there isn't much to update. The most interesting one I've seen is from Tulsa World:

The RV/cabins area adjustments, he said, “gives us some extra time to work with FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) and get that flood plain resurveyed, et cetera, and get it in front of the government. That could actually be an expansion area,” he told the Vinita City Council.

However, the plastic fences currently near the planned RV/cabins area have signs that read “Do not disturb. Protected waters of the United States per the US Army Corps of Engineers. Tulsa Regulatory Office.”

Brannen Parrish, spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers in the Tulsa region, which includes Vinita, said the Corps did not require signs, fencing or any other barriers at the site.

“The owner/developer of the property wanted to ensure the stream areas went undisturbed, as many different contractors were expected to be on site during the construction process,” he said in an email.

“The Corps issued a ‘No Permit Required’ letter based on the information provided by the applicant that the streams would be left undisturbed,” Parrish’s email said.

So that's really odd to hear that the property is not actually in a COE flood plain... There may still be some stormwater issues to address, but that makes a lot of the signage and fencing around the site very extraneous. That combined with the whole marketing around "dirt being moved" back early this year makes me wonder if the whole thing was just for show. Why is every part of this project so weird?

[bombermwc]

Because it's just a scam to try to get people to give them money for something that's never going to happen. If it did happen, it would be like The Producers. Sad for anyone that falls for this and funds it.

[shavethewhales]

The latest:
https://www.nwahomepage.com/news/wha...musement-park/

No changes. Crossland and FORREC liens still in effect for nearly $6 million. Not answering their phones, and no updates to social media since late July. Someone in one of the FB groups that I follow around Vinita sent an email and got a response stating that there is no timeline for the RV park anymore.

I wouldn't say the whole thing is outright dead yet, but the buzzards are circling. Next year they will have another shot at state funding for some of the utilities. That may be what they are waiting for. If nothing has been approved by next summer I think we can officially call it dead.

I imagine they want to see if they can get SOMETHING built before starting on the RV park. At this point it wouldn't make sense to move forward with the RV park because nothing else that they have proposed seems likely to get approval/funding. They need to drastically scale back their plans, but with $6 million already in the hole that isn't going to be easy. Who would even work for them as designers with so many outstanding bills?

[Jake]

Again credit to the Chickasaws for OKANA actually existing.

[Pete]

Again credit to the Chickasaws for OKANA actually existing.

Haha... No kidding.

Anyone can throw together some renderings and attract a lot of attention to themselves, but actually building something of quality at scale is rare and usually takes decades of perseverance and hard work.

[formerly405Tulsan]

This has officially been delayed. But it will still happen according to developers, lol.

https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/bu...O2GrN4MqyN55Tg

[Pete]

From that World article:

The initially planned 2026 opening of $2.5 billion Disney-like theme park in Vinita likely will be pushed back at least three years, but developers insist the massive project is still a go.

“We are continuing to move forward. We have had some temporary challenges to overcome but we are confident that we will be back on track soon,” Gene Bicknell, the project’s financial backer, said in a statement to the Tulsa World.

Gene Bicknell turned 92 in September.

[SEMIweather]

Lol. Lmao, even. Who could have predicted this, besides everyone with a modicum of critical thinking? Just waiting for a similar article about Legends Tower.

[jn1780]

Silver Dollar City is a great theme park not that far from where they wanted to build this. They are planning a huge expansion and currently building a resort. There is no need for another park in the region that probably won't come close to meeting expectations even if built.

I still say the whole reason "American Heartland" was conceived because a rich old guy hates Disney.

[Pete]

I still say the whole reason "American Heartland" was conceived because a rich old guy hates Disney.

He's a crazy old crank. He had a whole series of nutty podcasts that they had to hurry up and scrub from the internet because it was all so unhinged.

Your point about Silver Dollar City is right on. It's only two hours away and has the huge benefit of being near Branson, which makes the entire area a massive draw. You can't compete with these huge, well-established destinations with a campground in Vinita.

The whole thing makes as much sense as a 130-story building in Bricktown.

[shavethewhales]

^lol, yeah when this project was first announced I recall looking through Mansion Entertainment and discussing how nutty it all was. It's supposed to be this huge media conglomerate, but all they've really done is awkwardly sponsor the Rose bowl parade for no discernable reason and operate a relatively small scale music venue in Branson with a few shows per month. They apparently put out some kind of animated show at one point that was all about the founder and his wife? It looked very weird and I'm not sure if it was ever actually released or what it was made for.

I mean, look at this on their website: https://www.mansionentertainmentgrou...-mansion-sound
It just looks and sounds bizarre. They even mention Walt Disney... I thought they were trying to take Disney down?

I've never known what to make of this whole thing. The owners are clearly off their rocker, but so are most rich people. They have made some actual movements towards construction that made everyone think something was happening. I mean, they actually produced a video showing earth moving equipment working out at the RV site at one point! People keep talking about it being a "scam" but as far as I can tell the only losers are the owners of Mansion Entertainment themselves. At least until public money truly gets involved for their off-site utilities.

Like I've said, the next legislative session is probably what everything is held up on. They need to get approval for the off-site utilities through that weirdly specific bill that was shelved last session. If that isn't passed, I think that will end this boondoggle. If it does... who knows what will happen.

I do think they could compete with SDC though. I don't think the location is as big an issue as people think. Branson is absolutely slammed and SDC is starting to turn people off because it has gotten so crowded and expensive. A smaller park right off of I-44 near another huge lake could work. Of course, you'd have to have the right scope and business plan...

[ManAboutTown]

He's a crazy old crank. He had a whole series of nutty podcasts that they had to hurry up and scrub from the internet because it was all so unhinged.

Interesting side note: he appeared as one of the the Baseball Furies in the movie "The Warriors." I saw that movie in the summer of 1979 at the Skyview Drive-In in Oklahoma City.

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0081074/

[Pete]

^

Like the Boardwalk at Bricktown, the possible scam comes into play with investors and lenders.

Tons of promotion and a handful of pretty renderings, then they go out soliciting money.

[Mesta Parker]

Headline from an article on Apple News this morning from Construction Dive magazine.

“Oklahoma’s $2.5B Disney-sized theme park reportedly fails to launch”
“The opening of the American Heartland development in Vinita has been pushed back and two firms have filed liens against the developers”

The article states one firm has filed suit over $5.5 million in unpaid design services for the theme and RV park and a second firm for non payment of $350,000 in services provided last February. The developer says the project is on hold pending permit approval from the Army Corp of Engineers.

[shavethewhales]

The Corp of Engineers has already come out saying that they are not the ones holding this up. The RV property does not have any major floodplains apparently, although they do have to implement typical stormwater/erosion protections and have the usual SWPPP in place. The corp has even offered a conditional permit so they can get started on at least some of the RV park if they wanted to. It sounded to me like they didn't understand the process at all and just kind of started construction with an unfinished design.

Someone on one of the FB groups pointed out to me that the lien issue is progressing. Apparently there are new court filings. They are going to start foreclosure proceedings on the property... The lien had an interest charge that was very steep.