Branson aldermen approve due diligence work on proposed sports facility

Alexander Girard: City feels confident in Branson Meadows development’s direction.

The Branson Board of Aldermen approved a resolution at its March 10 meeting for economic development due diligence work at a 17-acre site the city is looking to purchase for a proposed indoor sports facility.

The unanimous vote by the board authorizes the city to utilize Baker Tilly Municipal Advisors LLC for due diligence research and support services in connection to the parcel for which the city has a signed option agreement to purchase. The land, owned by Coryell Development Group LLC, is near the Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce & Convention and Visitors Bureau on Gretna Road. It also is in the middle of the Branson Meadows area, a multimillion-dollar, multiphase development project seeking to bring a mix of commercial, entertainment, residential and retail components to over 130 acres in town.

“That due diligence really is helpful for us to understand the 17-acre site and to make sure it’s the right fit for the sports facility,” said Alexander Girard, chief of staff for the city of Branson.

The city agreed to spend $113,000 in fees for the research, which Kolbe Krzyzanowski, manager with Baker Tilly, said would be split between the company and consulting firm HVS Global Hospitality Services.

Girard said the city recently extended its option agreement on the 17-acre site for another six months, which means it won’t have to make a purchase decision before September. He said the due diligence work involves a market and demand analysis, an economic impact analysis and a financing plan.

“We’re obviously considering a significant public or private investment here in the design, the construction and operation of the proposed facility,” Girard said. “And in that process, it’s of course in the best interest of the city and our community and our residents to obtain information and independent professional analysis to evaluate the project and impacts on the community.”

At the March 10 meeting, City Administrator Cathy Stepp said enlisting help from Baker Tilly is a matter of doing more homework before investing millions of dollars in taxpayer money toward the project. Girard said the city already has a contract with Baker Tilly for economic development and municipal financial advisory services. This project will simply add another task to the firm’s plate, Stepp said.

“We want to make sure we’ve dotted all the i’s and crossed all the t’s and done extra, extra due diligence on that particular parcel and the feasibility of a building on that particular site,” she said.

The proposed indoor sports facility is expected to be the third phase of the Branson Meadows development, which is still in the first-phase planning process and yet to begin construction, city officials say.

The sports facility would be around 149,000 square feet, 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, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting. The city entered an agreement in May 2025 with Clearwater, Florida-based business management consulting firm Sports Facilities Co. as part of next steps toward the potential investment in the facility. Facility cost estimate is $100 million, according to city documents.

Moving forward
The Branson Meadows development totals roughly $400 million, including $300 million for the first and second phases expected to be completed over a seven-year period. In September 2025, the Board of Aldermen voted unanimously to green-light the tax increment financing plan and developer’s agreement for the development with Oklahoma-based Philcrest Properties Inc.

Phase I is expected to include approximately 150 multifamily residential units, a sports and dining attraction named Mammoth Fieldhouse, a religious-themed attraction dubbed Bible Encounter and a roughly 200-room hotel. The second phase comprises an additional 110 apartments, some 31 tourist cabins, two restaurants, a convenience store, a sporting goods store and a retail development.

Grant Wilkins, Philcrest director of real estate, previously told SBJ that Phase I construction should begin by the first quarter of 2026. However, Wilkins did not return messages seeking comment for this story by press time. Girard confirmed no dirt work had started as of March 10.

“The development’s moving forward, and it’s going well. From my understanding, they’re inking contracts with the various entities that are getting built,” Girard said, directing additional questions to the developers. “The developer is making good progress in the city’s view and interests, and we feel very confident in the direction this development is heading.”

Officials with Mammoth Fieldhouse say its $38.5 million project will be a roughly 40,000-square-foot social competitive entertainment venue with a strong focus on food and beverage. Bible Encounter, a 15-acre, 85,000-square-foot, faith-based project combining education and entertainment has an estimated cost of $41 million, co-developer Billy Ong previously told SBJ.

Ong and Mammoth Fieldhouse officials did not respond to messages seeking project updates by press time.

The city filed a petition earlier this month in Taney County Circuit Court for the formation of a transportation development district. Girard said the filing is among the planned incentives for Philcrest Properties, which is developing the Branson project under Branson Meadows TIF Co. LLC. The developer’s cost is estimated to be around $124 million with the remaining $176 million for third parties, according to officials.

The redevelopment project can utilize a TIF for up to 23 years, according to past SBJ reporting. Aside from the TIF, which officials say is roughly $73.7 million of the planned incentives, the area also will have a community improvement district and TDD, which each allow a 1% sales tax. The amount of the CID and TDD will each be capped at $4.2 million.

“It complies with the TIF plan and the development agreement,” Girard said of the filing required to establish the TDD. “It’s for the infrastructure, the transportation-related components of the overall development.”

As for the potential sports facility’s due diligence work, Girard said the city expects to receive an update within the next two or three months. Following that, the plan is to seek public input on the facility by sometime this summer ahead of a September deadline to purchase the land. 

“We’re really taking this approach methodically and thoughtfully at the end of the day with the desired end goals of benefitting the community in mind,” he said. •