Local and state officials broke ground this week on the enormous Three Ponies RV Park and Campground just off Route 66 near Vinita, Oklahoma.
Three Ponies will be a luxury outdoor resort containing 300 cabins and 750 RV sites. At 320 acres, the development will be the largest campground in the region, according to a news release.
The more than $100 million project will create more than 300 jobs and is expected to attract more than 315,000 guests per year. It sits near Interstate 44 and Route 66.
It’s the first phase of American Heartland Theme Park and Resort, a more than $2 billion entertainment destination development near the RV park.
More about the RV park from the release:
The RV park will feature a clubhouse with snack bar, a general store, swimming pools, multipurpose trails and a dog park.
The clubhouse will include a cafe and snack bar with indoor and outdoor dining service as well as pick-up and swim-up service options from the pool.
The recreation building will house a restaurant serving lunch and dinner, a fitness room, arcade, and a game room with pool and foosball.
The general store will offer all types of camping provisions including easy-to-prepare food, snacks, drinks, a coffee bar and supplies. Amenities including a dog park and dog-friendly hiking trails are also available for the guests’ furry friends.
“Tourism is the third-largest industry in Oklahoma which generated a record-breaking $10.1 billion in direct visitor travel spending in 2021. Three Ponies will be a welcome addition to northeast Oklahoma, increasing employment numbers and benefiting local economies,” Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Executive Director Shelley Zumwalt said. “The location along the historic Route 66 will inspire travelers from all over the world to visit. As we continue to add top-tier tourism destinations, we expand the opportunity to highlight the best of what Oklahoma has to offer.”
A couple of artist’s renderings of the general store and recreation building of the RV park:
According to a report by the Tulsa World, 90-year-old Gene Bicknell is the project’s chief financial backer.
He owns theaters in Branson and founded NPC International, which became the world’s largest Pizza Hut franchise. In the mid-2000s Bicknell sold NPC International, which owned more than 800 Pizza Hut locations around the world.
He is also a former mayor of Pittsburg, Kansas, as well as an author, actor, broadcaster, pilot, veteran and professor.
“The whole team has just done a tremendous job of organizing this, putting it together,” Bicknell told reporters after Monday’s groundbreaking. “Our hope and desire is that we bring hope and faith and joy to the people of not only this state but the entire country.
Three Ponies is being planned by urban designers Nadi Group and designed by Oklahoma architects ADG Blatt. Crossland Construction Company is the contractor.
Construction on Three Ponies is scheduled to be finished in 2025. The theme park, which includes a 300-room hotel and indoor water park, is slated for a 2026 opening.
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