Take a look at Lamar Hunt Jr.’s vision for an accessible theme park, hockey arena in Olathe

Kansas City’s storied Hunt family is behind a major Olathe development that will feature two main attractions the family is well-known for: sports and theme parks.

Loretto Properties , the company of Lamar Hunt Jr., owner of the Kansas City Mavericks hockey team, is building a hockey arena to house a junior league team, as part of a major project at 119th Street and Renner Boulevard in Olathe. Plans also include an amusement park, designed to be accessible to everyone regardless of disability.

It’s all part of a $300 million development on two large swaths of land, 63 acres at the southwest corner of 119th Street and Renner Boulevard, and another 69 acres on the northeast corner of the intersection. The project will also feature a medical facility and hotel, both aimed at meeting a high standard for accessibility. And VanTrust Real Estate is partnering with the group to develop retail and restaurants on the site.

The theme park is a unique project, aimed at being fully inclusive. But in some ways it’s old hat for the Hunt family. Lamar Hunt Sr. founded the Worlds of Fun amusement park in Kansas City in the early 1970s. And the new park is expected to incorporate a sports theme, fitting for the family in which the senior Hunt founded the Chiefs franchise.

“If you look at the history of the Lamar Hunt family, with Worlds of Fun and everything like that, we were all a part of that growing up. We owned it for 23 years and it still continues to make a huge impact on this community,” Lamar Hunt Jr. told The Star. “ … It’s about building our community.

“That’s really what the Hunt family has tried to do here. We had the Chiefs and it’s a beautiful gift. But we also reinvest in the community. That’s what we’re doing here. And we’re going to reinvest the gift of what this community has given us.”

The developers are seeking Kansas STAR bonds — that stands for Sales Tax and Revenue — which are 20-year bonds that are repaid with sales tax revenue generated by the projects. These bonds provide upfront dollars for projects intended to be unique tourist attractions drawing visitors from near and far. The Olathe City Council will consider establishing a STAR bond district for the project at its Sept. 17 meeting.

In an interview with The Star on Monday, the family described a project with deep personal meaning.

The theme park is inspired by Hunt’s grandson, 10-year-old Michael, who has a rare genetic condition, is non-verbal and uses a wheelchair. James Arkell, Loretto’s vice president and chief operating officer, said traveling with his family over the years, he’s learned how difficult it is to find places that allow his son Michael to fully participate in activities with his siblings.

“We’ve been to Disney, we’ve been to Super Bowls, we’ve been to all these different places. When we were there, Michael’s three other siblings, all they want is to be able to play with their brother. And it’s hard,” Arkell said. “We go to Disney and we have to separate and do all these things, and it’s not the same.”

Arkell said he realized that didn’t have to be the case five years ago on a trip to San Antonio, where the family visited the amusement park Morgan’s Wonderland . The park was built by Gordon Hartman, who sold his business in the early 2000s to create what is believed to be the first-ever “ultra-accessible” theme park, inspired by his daughter, Morgan.

Meeting that “ultra-accessible” standard means removing barriers for people with any range of disabilities to fully enjoy the park. There are rides and a roller coaster, all equipped with wheelchair access, a zip line, a Ferris wheel, carousel, playgrounds, a 4-D theater and more. Loud noises and long lines are eliminated.

“Out of every five people who come into our park, one has special needs, four do not. This park is about everybody joining together. It’s fully inclusive, everyone can do it,” Hartman told The Star on Monday. “There are certain ADA requirements for things, but that doesn’t go anywhere near what our theme park does. No matter how acute someone’s special need may be, they can enjoy the beauty of this theme park.”

Over the past 15 years, Hartman said more than three million people have visited his park.

Wanting to offer such an amenity to more families in the Midwest, Arkell said his group approached Hartman about launching a second location in Johnson County. The new park is expected to be called Michael’s Wonder World.

Arkell said Loretto has enlisted the same company to design the rides for the roughly 8-acre Olathe park. He said it will be similar to the first location in Texas, but designed for the Midwest’s weather. A two-story building will house a carousel, 13 boardwalk-style games, a theater and other activities that will be open in all weather.

The developers also are speaking with several nonprofits about setting up shop in the park, possibly at rotating vendor stalls, to sell goods and keep the money.

Accessibility health care hub

Beyond the theme park, the “ultra-accessible” standard is expected to be a theme throughout the broader Olathe development.

In San Antonio, Hartman has also created a medical facility called Morgan’s Multi-Assistance Center, or MAC, which Arkell plans to duplicate in Olathe. Arkell said that people with disabilities often struggle to find appropriate care, driving from specialist to specialist, receiving fragmented health care services.

“One of the problems you face with a special needs family member is that you basically start over every time you go to another doctor or another specialist,” Arkell said.

Hartman created Morgan’s MAC to bring a variety of needed providers within one network, offering surgery, dentistry, optometry, mental health care, physical therapy, occupational therapy, a hair and nail salon, as well as legal services. He said many of those providers are housed under the same roof, where patients will have access to a caseworker and all of their medical files in the same place.

Hartman said after being open about two years, 5,000 people are being served at his facility right now, which he expects to grow to 10,000 within 18 months.

In Olathe, Arkell is hoping to build a similar medical facility on the site, and said he is speaking with providers now to offer services there.

The project also includes a hotel, which by all appearances will seem like your average place to stay after a hockey tournament or day at the theme park. But Arkell said it will go beyond ADA standards to be more accessible, offering items that people with disabilities may need but can’t bring with them on trips, such as a lift.

Arkell said even on the retail side, the developers have been in talks with businesses about making their locations more accessible.

Growing hockey in KC

Another main piece of the Olathe development will be a new hockey arena, with two sheets of ice.

Since purchasing the Mavericks in 2015, and the formation of the Kansas City Youth Hockey Association, Lamar Hunt Jr. said his company has been focused on growing the sport in the Kansas City metro.

“The big constraint of hockey is unlike so many other sports, it’s totally based on facilities. And we just never had enough facilities in this community to really grow the game like we think it can and will,” said Mike Curry, chairman of the board of the Kansas City Youth Hockey Association. “These sheets we’re putting out in Olathe should give us a long runway.”

Curry said the new hockey arena will add to the current system, allowing the clubs playing at the Kansas City Ice Center to use the sheets in Olathe. And he said the group plans to expand its current high school program and create another Midwest area competitive high school team.

And they also have aimed for several years to bring a junior hockey team to the Kansas City market. Curry said they are now working on securing a franchise and are “a long way in that process.”

“We just haven’t had the facility to do it right,” Curry said. “And this is one of the things that has me so excited about the new Olathe project.”

The North American Hockey League is one of the top junior hockey leagues, with rosters consisting of players 20 years and younger. Lamar Hunt Jr. said adding a junior league to the Kansas City market would strengthen the sport locally, acting as a feeder for players to move on to play in college.

Loretto was involved in a similar hockey arena proposal before the COVID-19 pandemic, as developers sought STAR bonds to transform the old Great Mall site, at Interstate 35 and 151st Street. Meanwhile, another development with a hockey arena, at Bluhawk in Overland Park, secured its rival request for the state incentives. The sports facility at Bluhawk is expected to open this fall.

Some speculated that Loretto’s involvement in the Olathe project would have given it the edge over the one in Overland Park. But the plans fell through. Then the pandemic hit.

“We hit the brakes on everything. And I’m glad we did because now we’re coming back with the right project,” Arkell said. “And now we got the land we wanted, 119th and Renner. That was always the ideal site.”

The facility also would offer space for cheer and dance, Arkell said, as well as offer adaptive sports.