Ryman to pour $90M into Opryland water park
The water park complex Ryman Hospitality has planned for its Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center will cost $90 million and cover over 217,000 square feet, including water slides, food and bar service and a live entertainment area.
The company hopes to open the facility, which will link up to its Opryland hotel building, in late 2018. Ryman Hospitality detailed plans for the indoor/outdoor water park to be called Soundwaves at a Wednesday news event attended by Nashville Mayor Megan Barry.
Ryman and Metro are working on an incentive package in conjunction with the project, and the company commissioned an economic impact study by University of Tennessee economist Bill Fox. That study shows that the Opryland has an annual economic impact of $866.5 million. That dollar figure would balloon by $185 million annually, according to Fox's study, once the water park is complete.
The water park has been in the works for a couple of years, CEO Colin Reed said, adding that the company believes the facility will make Ryman competitive for conventions targeting families, like the upcoming World Irish Dance Championships, which will be coming to Ryman's Washington hotel in 2018, and youth sports tournaments. Reed hopes that businesspeople traveling to Nashville for conventions will be compelled to bring their families along and extend their stays.
He pointed to the continued growth of leisure travelers coming to Nashville to experience the music and culinary scenes and said the timing is right for Ryman Hospitality to expand its offerings.
Reed compared the company's investment to Las Vegas in the early 1990s expanding its hotels, investing in top-rate chefs and luring A-list music artists to draw visitors to town for extended stays.
"As we look at this changing consumer group that is piling into this town — the bachelorette parties, the bachelor parties — we've come to the conclusion that honky-tonks are fabulous," Reed said. "That's why they come here to drink beer and listen to music, but there's a limit to how much you can do that. If you're here for four or five days, there's a limit to that. You can see great concerts and drink a lot of beer, but you've got to be able to do other things to fulfill and capture these people."
Ryman Hospitality has been investing heavily in Nashville in recent years, including a $14 million renovation and expansion of the Ryman Auditorium, an $8 million renovation of the Wildhorse Saloon and the recently announced $20 million Ole Red project, which will be a Blake Shelton-themed restaurant and entertainment venue on Lower Broadway.
Reed said the company, which has been experiencing a surge in international customers, surveyed convention customers before making its investment in the water park.
"People don't want to come for 24 or 48 hours," Reed said. "They want to come for five or six days. We've decided this facility is there to give the guests something really compelling when they stay with us for multiple days."
Reed touted the water park, which will be available only for hotel guests, as one of a kind in the entire country. The facility will feature a lazy river, a wave pool, an adult bar area, live music and giant theater-sized television screens. Soundwaves will be built on what is currently self-parking on the side of the hotel where visitors would arrive from McGavock Pike. Hotel guests will be able to access Soundwaves from inside the hotel.
Ryman plans major water park at Opryland
"We want to make the facility a 365-day-a-year experience," Reed said, pointing to the company's experience of securing the Irish dance competition for Washington, D.C., in 2018. In that case, organizers wanted to know what amenities facilities have in place for families to enjoy when the competition wasn't in session. "We want to have a lot more ammunition to go after family-oriented conventions."
The incentive deal with Metro would keep Opryland's property taxes flat, after the anticipated increase for the most recent appraisal, through 2025. The deal also will extend the $1 million in annual hotel tax rebates that Ryman began receiving from Metro after the 2010 flood by six years to 2031. The total estimated value of the tax breaks and rebates, according to Barry's office, is about $13.8 million, which is subject to fluctuations based on future reappraisals. Barry touted Ryman's plans at Wednesday's media event. Barry said she believes the expansion will attract new tourists and give visitors another incentive to extend their stays.
"(Metro) has a long history of supporting our city's largest hotel, and we're proud to continue that support with this expansion," Barry said. "It's going to mean a lot more visitors to our city, more sales tax revenue. And it's going to continue to improve the quality of life for our citizens because that tax revenue translates into sidewalks and everything else that Nashvillians want."
State and local taxes generated by the water park will bring in $4.6 million annually, according to Fox's study.
As part of the proposed deal with the city, Ryman Hospitality also will give Metro Parks a piece of property on the Cumberland River with boat ramp access.
“This proposed land donation will provide a key access point to the Cumberland River for the Donelson community and all Nashville residents and visitors,” said District 15 Metro Council member Jeff Syracuse.
Reach Nate Rau at nrau@tennessean.com or 615-259-8094 and on Twitter @tnnaterau.
