Bellevue's Waterpark at Highways 34 and 75 Was Built to Pull a District Behind It

The building rising at the Highway 34 and Highway 75 interchange now has its final name, its first interior renderings and a new budget. On October 1, 2026, Mattel confirmed that the project long called Bellevue Bay will open as the first Mattel Wonder Indoor Waterpark anywhere. The water park gets the headlines, but the city is using it as a starting point. Bellevue leaders have said from the start that the park is meant to draw restaurants, hotels and more attractions onto the land around it. The next formal step on that land comes this winter, about a year before anyone rides a slide.

A Name Change Made Mid-Construction

Most Bellevue drivers on Highway 75 have watched this site for well over a year. Its identity changed partway through construction, and the timeline shows how late that change came.

1. June 2024. City officials announce the name Bellevue Bay Indoor Waterpark, as WOWT reported at the time.
2. October 2024. Groundbreaking moves from fall to March 2025, with completion still targeted for late 2026, according to 3 News Now.
3. March 20, 2025. Ground is broken just northwest of the interchange. KETV's coverage described a retractable roof, a lazy river, a rock-climbing wall and more than 3,300 feet of slides.
4. December 2, 2025. The City Council finalizes a Mattel branding agreement covering park features, signage, food and drink, 3 News Now reported.
5. October 1, 2026. Mattel releases the first interior renderings and sets the opening for the end of 2027.

The Mattel idea came after the plans were finished. At the October 1 event, Justin Brown of American Resort Management said construction documents for the Bellevue Bay version had already been finalized and work had begun when his company asked city officials, "What do you think about the very first Mattel Wonder Indoor Water Park?" The Bellevue Times reported that the city went ahead with the concept even though building was already underway.

What Mattel Is Putting Inside

Mattel's announcement describes a climate-controlled building of about 100,000 square feet with a retractable roof, built to run year-round. Here is how the brands map onto the attractions.

According to 3 News Now, WhiteWater is supplying the wave pools and aquatic play structures. Mattel has confirmed four of the five Mattel Wonder locations it plans across North America. The other three are Orlando, Florida; Bradley, Illinois; and Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina. Bellevue is set to open first.

The Bellevue Times reported that Mattel's Lindsay Gallagher Fisher described the goal as giving families a place "not just somewhere you visit once, but somewhere families want to come back to." That focus on repeat visits explains how the city expects the project to pay off.

The Budget Grew as the Ambitions Grew

On September 15, 2026, the Bellevue City Council approved $50 million in additional bonds. 3 News Now reported that this brings the total construction price to $110 million. At the March 2025 groundbreaking, the Nebraska Examiner reported that the project was first financed with $60 million in bonds. Harrison Johnson of the city's economic development department told the station that rising construction and labor costs drove the increase. He named structural steel, aluminum, fiberglass, concrete and diesel fuel, and called the city's first projections "pandemic-infused."

The city's math depends on attendance and the surrounding district. In the same report, Johnson said Bellevue hopes for about 600,000 visitors a year and that internal studies show the Mattel partnership raising revenue by 35%. He also pointed to the Good Life District designation, which lets the city benefit from sales tax for at least 30 years. The Bellevue Times reported that a Creighton University analysis by economist Dr. Ernie Goss projects more than $300 million in sales tax revenue over the 30-year life of the larger Good Life District. According to 3 News Now, residents at the meeting both supported the vote and objected to the city's spending priorities.

Every one of those numbers assumes more than a single attraction. Visitor counts and sales tax projections only work if people who come for the slides also eat, shop and stay nearby, and that is the part of the plan still being negotiated.

The Water Park as a Lever

At the October 1 event, Mayor Rusty Hike explained the strategy plainly. As the Bellevue Times quoted him:

"From the beginning, our strategy has been to use this water park as a lever, not as an isolated attraction. The goal is to build an entertainment district around it with restaurants, retail, lodging, additional attractions and other private investments."

Two pieces of that district are already in motion. In May 2026, the Bellevue Times reported on a city land sale for a hotel site north of the water park, planned to connect to the park by an elevated walkway. Earlier district plans, as the Nebraska Examiner reported in 2024, placed the Prairie Hill Farm commercial and retail campus around the REACH research facility, northeast of the same interchange.

Speakers at the reveal also talked about who the park is meant to reach. U.S. Rep. Mike Flood said it puts Bellevue "on a multi-state map," with families coming from South Dakota, Iowa, Missouri and Kansas. He also mentioned military families at Offutt Air Force Base and families already in the metro for youth sports, according to the Bellevue Times.

The Next Date to Watch Comes in January

On September 23, 2026, Bellevue signed an exclusive negotiation agreement with Goldenrod Companies and American Resort Management for the district's second major phase. The Bellevue Times reported that it covers about 35 acres of the city's remaining developable land, which could hold dining, amusement, retail and lodging. The team will also look at adding a dry amusement park to complement the water park. Goldenrod chairman and CEO Zach Wiegert described the job this way: "Our job is to build a fantastic project around this great anchor for Mattel."

The agreement is not a final development deal. It gives the parties 120 days to work out a Master Development Agreement that would release the land for the next phase. Counted from the September 23 announcement, that window closes around late January 2027. At that point, the land around the park should have a clearer future, while the park itself is still under construction.

The opening date is still a little uncertain. Local reporting from September put the opening in mid to late 2027. Mattel's October 1 release says the end of 2027. Either estimate is about a year past the late-2026 completion target officials set in 2024. The Bellevue Times noted that the October 1 event ended with hard hats and a walk onto the active construction site, with "considerable construction" still to go. Mattel says American Resort Management, which also runs Epic Waters and Wild Rivers, will oversee day-to-day operations once the doors open.

Over the next year, Bellevue drivers on Highway 75 should see more than one building go up. A hotel parcel with a walkway, a 35-acre negotiation due around late January, and a possible second amusement park all depend on the anchor at the interchange.

If you own a home in Bellevue and want to know how a regional attraction going up a few minutes away fits into your own plans, Nico and the team at Ralph Marasco Real Estate Group follow projects like this one closely and are happy to talk it through. Get Your Free Home Valuation, and we'll check in with you as the Bellevue Bay district takes shape.