No. 6: Branson supports $400M mixed-use development project

Approval of a tax increment financing plan in September by the Branson Board of Aldermen put in motion a development project in the Taney County town that seeks to bring a mix of commercial, entertainment, residential and retail components to over 130 acres.

On Sept. 9, the board voted unanimously to green-light the tax increment financing plan and developer’s agreement with Oklahoma-based Philcrest Properties Inc. The project spans roughly 136 acres across 17 parcels of land in the Branson Meadows area around Gretna Road and Town and Country Drive. It totals roughly $400 million, including $300 million for the first and second phases expected to be completed over the next seven years.

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.

A third phase would include an indoor sports facility. The city entered an agreement in May with Florida-based management consulting firm Sports Facilities Co. as part of next steps toward the potential investment in the facility. City officials say they are working with SFC to explore public-private financing options, programming needs and prospective private partners for the sports complex. Cost estimates for the proposed 149,000-square-foot facility are $100 million, according to city documents.

Grant Wilkins, Philcrest director of real estate, said Phase I construction should begin by the first quarter of 2026. Officials with Mammoth Fieldhouse say the $38.5 million project will be a roughly 40,000-square-foot social competitive entertainment venue with a strong focus on food and beverage. Jason Farrant, president of Mammoth Fieldhouse Inc., a division of Mammoth Sports Construction, said baseball, basketball, golf and pickleball will be among its gaming options for the venture, which will include a full-service restaurant and bar. Mammoth Sports Construction and another of the company’s divisions, Mammoth Sports Design, will serve as the project’s general contractor and architect, respectively. Farrant said a 2026 opening “would be optimistic.”

Officials behind another first-phase project, Bible Encounter, a 15-acre faith-based project combining education and entertainment, are hopeful construction will start early next year. The 85,000-square-foot attraction has an estimated cost of roughly $41 million, said Bobby Ong, a co-developer on the project. He estimated a spring 2027 opening.