YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
Officials behind a 15-acre religious-themed tourist attraction hope to begin work in the Branson Meadows area in early 2026 as part of a $400 million mixed-use development.
Bible Encounter is a first-of-its-kind, faith-based project combining education and entertainment, said Billy Ong, a former corporate development manager with Herschend Family Entertainment Corp., the parent company of Silver Dollar City. Now working independently as owner of his own consulting firm B K & J LLC, Ong, along with longtime pastor and author Bobby Sparks, are the developers for the project, estimated at roughly $41 million.
The 85,000-square-foot attraction will occupy nearly 15 acres, said Ong, whose nearly 40 years of developing amusement parks and attractions include Dollywood in Tennessee and Fritz’s Adventure, a Branson indoor and outdoor family entertainment center. He said Bible Encounter has no connection to Ark Encounter, a Williamstown, Kentucky attraction that includes a full-size Noah’s Ark.
“We’re not building a museum,” Ong said. “The thing that we’re building basically is submersed into what you call the story of the Bible. We want you to be inside the story.”
Bible Encounter wants guests to explore a vision of the Holy Land as it was in Biblical times, while sharing the story of salvation with real artifacts, life-size replicas and live reenactors. Officials say the attraction will utilize media, animatronic and theatrical technology.
“We take you from Genesis all the way to Calvary,” Ong said, referring to the site outside Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified.
Ong credits Sparks for the Bible Encounter concept, noting the two met in Branson around 2017.
“I really loved his idea,” Ong said, calling it a “walkthrough experience.”
Sparks, a graduate of Texas Baptist Institute and Seminary in Henderson, Texas, has spent around 50 years researching Old Testament theology and how it relates to the New Testament. He said he’s lectured at seminaries and churches in several dozen states and seven foreign countries and was excited to bring what he’s learned into an attraction in Branson.
“Some time ago when this was on my mind and heart to build a venue of this nature, I prayed about it and I looked at several places,” Sparks said, adding that the list included Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, home of Dollywood. “Branson just rolled out the red carpet. Everybody that I talked to was totally interested in it or encouraged me. I didn’t get that kind of encouragement out of any other place.”
In phases
Bible Encounter is part of a multiphase development project by Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Philcrest Properties Inc., according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting. The Branson Board of Aldermen earlier this month approved a tax increment financing plan and developer’s agreement for the project, which spans roughly 136 acres across 17 parcels of land in the Branson Meadows area around Gretna Road and Town and Country Drive.
The first two phases, estimated to cost roughly $300 million, are expected to be completed over the next seven years, according to past reporting.
Grant Wilkins, director of real estate for Philcrest Properties, previously told SBJ that site work for Phase I, which includes Bible Encounter, approximately 150 multifamily residential units, a sports entertainment facility and a roughly 200-room hotel, should start by either fourth quarter of this year or first quarter of 2026.
Phase II comprises an additional 110 apartments, approximately 31 tourist cabins, two restaurants, a convenience store, a sporting goods store and retail development.
The third phase, which involves the development and construction of an indoor sports facility for the city of Branson, is estimated at $100 million. City officials say they are working with Clearwater, Florida-based business management consulting firm Sports Facilities Co. to explore financing options, programming needs and prospective private partners for the complex’s development.
“I don’t think there’s been a better time to develop in Branson, and this development is truly reflective of that opportunity of what our city has to offer and our continued positive vision for future success and growth,” said Alexander Girard, chief of staff for the city of Branson, regarding the Branson Meadows project. “We’re truly firing on all cylinders here to attract investment, grow our economy and ensure Branson remains a premier tourism destination for millions of visitors.”
Philcrest Properties is developing the Branson project, which Wilkins said currently has no official name, under Branson Meadows TIF Co. LLC.
As part of the first phase, Wilkins said Philcrest has a letter of intent with both sports and dining attraction Mammoth Fieldhouse to build the nearly $38 million sports entertainment facility and O’Reilly Hospitality Management LLC for the development of the roughly $22 million hotel. Officials with Mammoth Fieldhouse were not available for comment prior to press time. Tim O’Reilly, CEO of O’Reilly Hospitality Management, referred questions about the hotel back to Wilkins, who didn’t return messages by press time.
Planning and permitting for the Bible Encounter project is still in the works and will likely take several months to complete, Ong said. He estimates a spring 2027 opening.
“There’s a lot of things that have got to get in place,” he said.
Facility focus
For the third phase, Girard said the city has a signed option agreement to purchase a 17-acre parcel owned by Coryell Development Group LLC in the middle of the development near the Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce & Convention and Visitors Bureau, according to past reporting.
“Within the next six months, we have the option to purchase the land, which I fully expect the Board of Alderman to execute,” Girard said, adding it was appraised at $6.6 million. “Those funds are currently available.”
Girard said the city also intends to start engaging the public on programming needs for the Phase III sports complex.
“That’s really important to us to have the public engaged, whether it’s going to be community listening sessions, whether it’s going to be public outreach – there’s a lot of different strategies we’re exploring,” he said. “But we really want to hear from the community of what the feel of this facility should be. We want it to be reflective of the Ozarks and all that it has to offer here.”
The proposed facility would be around 149,000 square feet, Girard said, and would include eight basketball courts, 16 volleyball courts, 24 pickleball courts, a food court and concessions, locker rooms, meetings space and possibly leased medical space.
The Branson Meadows area development comes as Silver Dollar City last year began work on a $500 million investment to expand the theme park and associated properties. Silver Dollar City Parks and Resorts will include a $100 million, seven-story, 262-room hotel, plus planned additions to the theme park as the company seeks to develop 1,200 acres of land abutting the park to its west, according to past reporting.
Officials say the resort is slated for completion before the end of 2026.
This installment of Springfield Business Journal’s Architects & Engineers Project Report showcases 26 endeavors by area design and engineering professionals.
