BRANSON, Mo. — Plans for Branson’s next family attraction, a $10 million adventure park, were unveiled this morning.
Fritiz’s Adventure will feature rock climbing walls, zip lines, a rope course, and a water tower, tubes and slides.
“It will include Ozark rock formations and trees in an urban steel jungle … It’s the conglomeration of natural and manmade structures,” said Ted Cunningham, who spoke at the announcement on behalf of the developers. Billy Ong is project manager.
The 40,000-square-foot attraction is expected to open in the summer of 2016 and is located at the site of the old Silver Fountain Inn, 1425 W. Missouri Highway 76, next to the Dixie Stampede. It also will include a restaurant.
This tourist attraction is one of the early efforts for the New Spirit of 76, a project of the city of Branson to revitalize the Highway 76 corridor.
The goal is to redesign the roadway and make it more accessible for walkers, bicyclists and implement a trolley. If all goes as planned, Highway 76 will be transformed into a “linear amusement park” filled with retail, restaurants and attractions that people can walk to and spend the day exploring, according to Ann McDowell, executive director of Project Branson, a private economic development group working with the city of Branson on the effort.
The idea is to make the attractions surrounding the highway so inviting that people will be more willing to walk from one attraction to another without realizing how far they are walking, said Joel Hornickel, director of planning and development for the city.
At this point, the Highway 76 development plan is still in its development phase but is projected to cost $80 to $100 million.
The hope is developers will buy underutilized and dilapidated properties surrounding the corridor and redevelop them. “Fritz’s Adventure plays right into that and takes advantage of a property that has been underutilized for years. They have torn down the former motel on the property and that has sparked a lot of conversation. Everyone is excited to see what the next step is,” Hornickel said.
By Juliana Goodwin
