Construction continues at Oklahoma City's new OKANA Resort
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) - Construction at the OKANA Resort and Indoor Water Park is swimming right along.
"It's going to be two three letter words: Wow and fun,” said OKANA Director of Sales and Marketing, Edd Karlan. “It's going to be a ‘wow’ for all of our guests and it's going to be a boatload of fun."
Karlan said the two-level, 100-thousand square foot attraction will make a splash like no other. On Thursday, KFOR got to watch pieces of what will soon be 18 water slides be assembled.
"Everything that you've seen today and everything our guests are going to see next year when we open is unique to the state,” said Karlan.
The $400 million tourist destination, located next to the First Americans Museum, will also include a more than 400-room hotel, a conference center and a four and a half acre adventure lagoon.
"Our outdoor water lagoon is a differentiator,” said Karlan. “We're going to have zip lines out there for kids and outdoor slides and other attractions."
Karlan expects the attraction to have a major impact on OKC’s economy.
"The interest and the phone calls and the inquiries that I'm getting personally about it are, 'I'd like to hold my meeting and an event there next year,' 'I'd like to book my family vacation there next year,'” said Karlan. “The phone's almost ringing off the hook."
Officials say it’ll also create 300 jobs.
"We're very, very excited about putting our stamp and our footprint on Oklahoma City as it continues to grow,” said Karlan.
According to Karlan, progress for the waterpark is ahead of schedule. The plan is for the entire resort to be open by spring 2025.