OWA Parks & Resort in Coastal Alabama, a multi-million-dollar entertainment complex located in Foley, Alabama, is owned and operated by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians. OWA Parks and Resort comprises a 500 + acre property featuring sports facilities, an RV park and hotel, and Downtown OWA a retail and restaurant district. It is also home to Tropic Falls at OWA, an outstanding theme park and water park, including an all-new indoor water park expansion that opened in May 2022.
OWA’s name is derived from a Creek word for “big water”. The tropical theme of the 520-acre property was inspired by the nearby Gulf of Mexico.
Kristin Hellmich is the director of strategy and media communications, responsible for strategizing, implementing, and managing media relations and new external media initiatives for the Poarch Band of Creek Indians. She talks to blooloop about the water park project and what it means for the development as a whole.
The Poarch Band of Creek Indians
Hellmich first became involved with OWA in 2015, when the project was originally taken over by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians.
“I was brought in as a marketing and public relations consultant on the project initially,” she tells blooloop. “The project was just an idea on a piece of paper at that point. I helped them develop the concept and the brand for OWA from scratch.
“I worked for the OWA property for seven years as the marketing and public relations director. Then, last year, in June, I ended up getting a promotion within the tribe. I now oversee all external communications for the tribe as a whole. This is a role that is heavily focused on public relations. It includes continuing to work on the OWA Parks and Resort project, as well as the other properties and businesses the tribe owns.”
Currently, they own over 40 different companies in the United States and the Caribbean.
Hellmich adds some context:
“The Poarch Band of Creek Indians is the only federally recognized tribe in the state of Alabama. They’re located in a small community called Atmore, which is where the reservation is located, and where the tribal government operates as a sovereign nation.”
A focus on tourism and hospitality
The fact the tribe receives federal recognition means it is recognised as having a government-to-government relationship with the United States, with the responsibilities, powers, limitations, and obligations attached to that designation, and is eligible for funding and services from the Bureau of Indian Affairs:
“It’s an unusual situation,” she comments. “The way that the tribe operates is they have a nine-member tribal council. This sets the agenda and oversees the government operations for the entire tribe, which is comprised of about 2,900 tribal members. Those members are enrolled and recognised by the federal government and have their own ID system.”
“The nine-member tribal council governs tribal operations and oversees business investments like the OWA project. They decide to approve projects, and invest in a variety of different types of business lines.”
The primary focus for the tribe is tourism and hospitality:
“There is a focus on gaming through several casino operations they have, and then they have several natural resource-based companies. One is a farm that’s located on the reservation. They also have a wildlife preserve they operate that’s open to the public.”
Giving back to the community
The tribe employs 6,000 employees across the United States:
“We do have two casino resort properties in the Caribbean; one in Curaçao, and one in Aruba. But the primary number of businesses are located within the state of Alabama.”
The aim of operating a range of businesses is to create a sustainable future for the tribal members and to continue to invest revenues in government operations.
Hellmich explains:
“There is a fire department, a police department, and a healthcare facility on site. They have housing and community services. It’s essentially a self-contained state or city. Outside of reinvesting into the tribal community, the Poarch Band of Creek Indians is very focused on reinvesting in the communities in which they serve, which is across the state of Alabama and beyond.
“They do a lot of projects within the communities, whether that’s through charitable giving or helping build new schools. They really are invested in giving back.”
Creating OWA Parks & Resort
Outlining the background to OWA’s inception, she adds:
“The tribe had always wanted to invest in a tourism and hospitality division. They had, before starting the OWA project, owned several hotels throughout the state of Alabama. They wanted to expand that real estate portfolio and saw the opportunity with this particular piece of property in Foley to do something special, creating a family-friendly destination.”
“Before building the OWA project, the tribe was very well known for their casino gaming in Alabama. But they wanted to evolve beyond being known as the tribe that had casinos. This was a way for them to go into a project, partner up, and look at another expansion into hospitality and tourism.”
Expanding on the partnership, she says:
“As well as the Poarch Band of Creek Indians purchasing the real estate and building site, the city of Foley was investing about $40 million into the project to construct sports tourism facilities: 14 soccer fields and a huge indoor event centre where they do volleyball and basketball tournaments. That was a big catalyst. The tribe saw the opportunity to partner with another government entity, and not just go out on their own.”
Taking on the project
Another significant factor was the fact that the state of Alabama was investing around $6 million in a road project within the development:
“It was a critical road that connected the project to a main highway located a couple of miles away. It gave the project frontage on two major roadways in Foley. Prior to the tribe taking it over, an independent developer had secured the land. They approached the city of Foley with a similar resort destination concept. The city was supportive because they saw the opportunity to have an entertainment destination in Foley.”
The prospective developer was unable to obtain funding:
“In essence, the tribe was the initial bank. We provided the funding for that gentleman to purchase all the land. He was required to make certain progress points throughout the loan process and wasn’t able to meet those. At that point, the property was nothing but red dirt. The tribe had the opportunity to sell the property outright as a piece of real estate or to start this project, and turn it into what it is today.
“Seeing the opportunity, they said, ‘We’re going to move forward and make this happen.’ To this date, they have invested over $350 million in the OWA property.”
Visiting OWA Parks and Resort
In terms of what visitors to OWA can expect, she says:
“People look at the OWA property and see the theme and water park, and automatically think ‘family-friendly’. In fact, OWA has a variety of options for all different types of people.
“I mentioned that the city of Foley had invested in sports tourism. We see a lot of travelling sports teams, whether that’s soccer, lacrosse, basketball, volleyball, or gymnastics. They travel down and spend the weekend at OWA, experiencing sports tournaments during the day, and dining or shopping at Downtown OWA, the retail and restaurant district, or enjoying the theme and water parks, at night. That’s one sector.”
“Then, obviously, families are the top demographic. It’s not just a traditional mom, dad, and kids family. We see multi-generational families with grandparents, or extended families in larger groups because they have room to spread out. There’s an opportunity, if somebody doesn’t want to go to the waterpark, to relax in a cabana. Or to go downtown to one of the two theatres to catch a comedy show or a band performance.
“It’s very diverse as far as what people can do. When someone comes in, they can expect to stay for several hours or several days. That’s the beauty of OWA: you can take it at your own pace.”
Tropic Falls at OWA
If visitors are simply looking to experience Tropic Falls, the theme and water park, they can go through the beautiful gates into a tropical oasis.
“There really is an immersive feeling of being in a tropical destination. There are lush palm trees and lots of bright colours. These fall in line with the Tropic Falls brand itself – pinks, oranges, blues and greens. Plus there are lots of murals.”
“The park offers so many selfie and posing opportunities for younger people. At the entrance, we have a big Tropic Falls sign. This looks like a volcano with water coming out of the top of it. It’s an iconic photo moment.
“Once inside, they can continue to enjoy the theme park and the rides that are found within. Or, they can go over to the new indoor water park and start enjoying that experience.”
A unique retractable roof and wall
One element that makes the new Tropic Falls indoor water park unique is its large retractable wall. This opens to the outdoor wave pool and was created by OpenAire, a leading designer and manufacturer of retractable roofs and skylights.
“That was by design so that guests who came into the indoor water park didn’t feel too claustrophobic. They had room to spread out. It also allowed us to bring the outside in, because one of the things about being located in South Alabama is that the weather is nice and warm.
“We are about 10 minutes from the Gulf of Mexico. So, we can capture those sea breezes by having the retractable wall and roof. We can open it up while people still enjoy the shade and protection of being in the building.”
Concerning the suppliers, she comments:
“OpenAire provided the building. It was the first building they’ve ever constructed in the United States that has both a retractable roof and a retractable wall. To us, that was a critical piece of making a selection of a manufacturer. Can they fit within our timeline and create this immersive experience? OpenAire could.”
Seamless guest flow
The 128-foot-wide and 26-ft-tall retractable wall slides open to allow guests to flow seamlessly from the indoor waterpark to the adjacent outdoor wave pool.
“OpenAire is so proud of this signature waterpark created with the OWA team,” says Nancy Patterson, director of design and business development at OpenAire. “The blue glass walls enhance the underwater theme. This results in a truly spectacular and unique environment we are so proud to showcase. Meanwhile, the 100ft wide opening wall promotes incredible flow for guests from the indoor to the outdoor waterpark zones, enabling a fabulous guest experience!”
“We used Cox Pools to construct the outdoor wave pool and the pool structures at the base of the slides,” adds Hellmich. “And then we used ProSlide for all of the slide structures.”
A good reaction to Tropic Falls Waterpark
Overall, she says, the reception has been overwhelmingly positive:
“Of course,” she adds, “Anytime that you open a new attraction, there’s always a learning curve. Our management team at the water park and the theme park is taking that feedback from guests, and making improvements every day to continue to build on guest experience.
“But overall, one of my favourite things to do is to stand at the main entrance of the indoor water park when people come in and just see the looks on their faces, because everyone that comes in is just so pleasantly surprised and shocked to see this beautiful, well done, highly themed indoor water park and outdoor wave pool, located in south Alabama.”
Covering an area of 100,000 square feet, the water park‘s indoor offerings include a lazy river and 11 waterslides. Outdoor attractions include the wave pool, a surf simulator and a dining location.
“One of the most iconic design elements inside the building is a huge octopus with tentacles that reach 40 or 60 feet in the air. At night they’re illuminated with lights on the inside. Then there’s the giant kids’ multi-story play structure. Just to see the dump bucket turning over with water splashing out is incredible.”
Adding to the guest experience at Tropic Falls
Hellmich continues:
“Something unique to this property is that we had a very specific piece of land we could put the Tropic Falls water park on. We wanted to fit within this 14-acre section next to the theme park so they could be combined, not separated. This landlocked the indoor waterpark, effectively.
“The very large slides have long run-outs. Originally, our design was to have those run-outs on the concrete. But the issue was it ate up way too much space and made us sacrifice other attractions.”
The team came up with a novel solution:
“We decided to expand and adapt a basement at the facility. As a result, very high-velocity slides all run out underground in a basement.”
One such slide is a multi-person mat racer. Further slides include a flying saucer fully enclosed tube slide, a funnel tube slide, a drop capsule skybox body slide, and a plummet body slide.
“The basement is a unique piece of this property,” Hellmich comments:
“When we were building it, we would post photos online, and people would see the stairwell leading downstairs, and they were like, ‘What is that?’ They got very curious. It was a teasing piece of folklore to start with. It does add another level of allure because you emerge in this basement themed like a cave. It’s just a little extra element to make it work functionally for us, but also to create the guest experience we were looking to achieve.”
Future plans for OWA Parks and Resort
Concerning future plans for OWA Parks and Resort, she says:
“We are in the process of completing an RV resort within the property. That will be the next phase of our accommodations, for guests visiting for a short period. It’s located on the northern side of the property, so guests can have a little respite. There are woodlands around it, but then they can also drive a golf cart over into downtown for the day.
“Once that’s complete, we are in the design process for a second hotel of about 150 rooms. It is going to be attached to the waterpark, as that waterpark hotel experience. So that will be kind of the next phase as far as attractions within the Tropic Falls water park and theme park.”
“There have also been some preliminary discussions about adding some additional theme park attractions.”
In short:
“The tribe has focused on what guests want. A lot of businesses say that. But the tribe has actually been able to turn around and deliver on what the guests have asked for. Over the last five to six years since the project has been in operation, they have frequently surveyed the guests and added attractions and amenities based on guest feedback.
“They can do that quickly because they have the financial stability and the vision to see it through. That gives them flexibility to make it happen, and keep moving things forward.”
All images kind courtesy of OWA Parks and Resort
