New 190,000 Square Foot Scheels' All Sports Retail Destination Anchors the Schlitterbahn Vacation Village Project

KANSAS CITY, Kan., March 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The 370-acre Schlitterbahn Vacation Village proudly announces Scheels as its main retail anchor scheduled to open March 2011. Unlike typical sporting goods stores, the new Scheels All Sports, Kansas City is a collection of entertainment venues, specialty shops and boutiques staffed by experts in their particular fields. The 190,000 square foot Scheels retail shopping experience showcases Kansas' largest selection of sports, sportswear and footwear under one roof.

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"We believe Scheels is distinguished in its market group from any other in the country. We are excited to have Scheels as our first major retail anchor," explained David Beardsley, chief executive officer for Schlitterbahn Resorts Worldwide. "Scheels epitomizes the quality of the destination retail that has been visualized from the outset of this project's conception. We are pleased to have Scheels' as an integral part of the Vacation Village."

"The combination of the Schlitterbahn Vacation Village, along with the unique retail development anchored by Scheels, creates a sought out destination development that will draw guests from hundreds of miles. We have been studying the Kansas City market for more than four years and we appreciate the complimentary nature of the overall demographics of the region. We are also excited about the tremendous growth opportunity for all aspects of our business especially since Kansas City is a well established sports-minded community," stated Steve Scheel, the company's chief executive officer. We've selected Kansas City as our desired location for our one new store in 2011. Our Scheels' team is focused on making this the finest retail store in the region and our visitors will find a "Customer Experience" unlike any other. There is no one else in our industry that brings the expertise, intensity and selection to every category of sports."

World-Class Shopping

The Kansas City Scheels' store features sophisticated specialty shops ranging from technical running gear and the latest fashion sportswear, to spectacular hunting and fishing shops. The sport shoe, hiking boot and casual footwear selection is designed to be the largest in Kansas with everything from toddlers to serious hikers; beach sandals to fashion boots for women. Interactive shopping includes a world-class golf shop, bike shop, ski shop, canoe and kayak shop and fishing shop. The gun and hunting shops boasts the largest selection of guns in Kansas, ranging from every day shooters, to $20,000 collectible firearms displayed in the Scheels Collectible Gun Room.

Incredible Family Attractions

Special attractions include a 65-foot, 16-car, operating Ferris Wheel, two huge 16,000 gallon aquariums, a home decor and gift lodge, shooting galleries and laser shot shooting simulators. Visitors are able to test their golf, soccer, hockey, baseball, football and basketball skills in the sport simulators. There is a walk of US Presidents featuring two fully animated, talking presidents. No Scheels' shopping experience is complete without tasty treats found at the deli and fudge shop which serves gourmet soups and sandwiches, Starbucks coffee and specialty drinks, 24 flavors of home made fudge and 18 flavors of gelato are sure to make the shopping adventure something unlike Kansas City has ever experienced.

The Kansas City Scheels retail destination anticipates employing more than 300 associates and will be managed by Scheels manager and partner, Karen Jones. Karen is currently leading Scheels efforts in Iowa.

Scheels Background

Three acres of potatoes were the seed for the first Scheels store in 1902. Frederick A. Scheel, a German immigrant, used the $300 he earned from that first harvest of potatoes as the down payment on the first Scheels, a small hardware and general merchandise store in Sabin, Minnesota.

Over the years, Scheels opened in surrounding communities, including Fargo, North Dakota, where the Corporate Office and World's Largest All Sport Store are now located.

Firmly planted in the hardware business, Scheels started adding a small selection of sporting goods to their stores in 1954. Customer interest grew, and more and more sports lines were added with athletic shoes and clothing being introduced in the Scheels' product mix in 1972.

Scheels' first All Sports Superstore opened in Grand Forks, ND in 1989. Today, Scheels is a 23-store operation with stores in 7 states including North Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, Montana, Wisconsin and Nebraska. Providing Scheels' customers with first-class customer service and the world's largest selection of sports, sportswear and footwear are the priorities throughout the organization.

Currently, Steve D. Scheel, the great grandson of Frederick A. Scheel, is the Scheels CEO and oversees the company of over 3000 associates. His Son, Steve M. Scheel, is the company's president and has been working for Scheels since 1989.

Scheels is an employee-owned, privately held business that owes its consistent success to its empowered associates, managers and partners who think and make decisions for their individual store and the entire company.

Schlitterbahn Background

The Schlitterbahn Vacation Village is a $750 million year-round, trend-setting, retail entertainment destination comprised of multiple shopping, dining, lodging and entertainment venues connected by a Transportainment(R) River System. In the Vacation Village, manmade rivers carry guests between lodging units and a world-class Water Resort along with a covered Riverwalk including shops and restaurants.

The Water Resort will be one of the world's largest tubing parks with miles of interconnected rivers and signature attractions such as the Master Blaster(R) uphill water coaster and Torrent River(R). A Riverwalk with lush foliage and winding walkways will feature year-round destination shopping, dining and entertainment. The Vacation Village will feature more than 1,500 lodging accommodations including a full-service hotel, waterfront cabins, and the unique Treehaus Resort with elevated pods -- all integrated within waterpark attractions.

The Kansas project is the first expansion outside of Texas for the popular Schlitterbahn group of waterparks. Widely recognized as the leader of waterpark innovation and as the first family of American waterparks, Schlitterbahn currently operates three Texas waterparks -- Schlitterbahn Beach Waterpark, South Padre Island, Schlitterbahn Galveston Island Waterpark, Galveston Island and the award-winning flagship waterpark Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resort, New Braunfels.

Family-owned and operated, Schlitterbahn Waterparks has been a leader in family water entertainment since 1979. The parks offer family amenities that include free parking and free inner tubes. Guests are also welcome to bring a family picnic basket, excluding alcohol and glass containers, into the parks.

Schlitterbahn Beach Waterpark, South Padre Island

The 26-acre park opened in 2001 and features more than a dozen family attractions including the state-of-the-art Transportainment(R) river system. Schlitterbahn Beach Waterpark has received the industry's top awards for design innovation.

Schlitterbahn Galveston Island Waterpark, Galveston Island

Ranked the best indoor-waterpark in the US! The world's first convertible, climate-controlled indoor / outdoor waterpark features more than 30 family attractions including three interconnected rivers, two uphill water coasters and the signature Boogie Bahn surf ride.

Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resort, New Braunfels

The 65-acre park features more than 40 family attractions, miles of tubing adventures and 238 overnight accommodations. Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resort is the most popular summertime waterpark in the United States and has been rated the World's number one waterpark by the Travel Channel. It has been the top-attended seasonal waterpark in the United States since 1995, according to Amusement Business rankings.

For more information, contact Schlitterbahn Waterparks' corporate office in New Braunfels, Texas at 830.625.2351 or visit the parks' newsroom at schlitterbahn.com/news.