Pizza Hut, Disney and Oklahoma: What we know about who is building American Heartland Theme Park

A new, 125-acre theme park could be opening in northeast Oklahoma by 2026. Named "American Heartland Theme Park," the venture could bring as many as 4,000 jobs to the Vinita area, according to the developer, Mansion Entertainment Group.

Based in Branson, Missouri, Mansion's portfolio includes television productions, short films, as well as hosting concerts and theatrical performances at the Mansion Theater for the Performing Arts in their hometown. The venue has hosted artists like Kenny Loggins, Jeff Foxworthy, Bob NewHart, Dennis Quaid and many more.

The company announced the expansion into several of those areas in early 2022, noting plans then to build a movie studio with stages and equipment that would "rival anything in Los Angeles," said CEO Larry Wilhite, a former general manager of the theater.

Here's what we know about the company and those involved in the $2 billion project.

Plans for American Heartland Theme Park planned in Vinita include hotel, RV and water park

In a July 19 news release from American Heartland, the company announced the theme park in and resort is scheduled to open in 2026 west of Grand Lake on Route 66.

In the spring of 2025, the company says the first phase, featuring a RV park and campground, will be complete. Named "Three Ponies," the space is "prime from travelers and naturist who are looking to reconnect with nature," the company advertises.

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A "top-tier," 300-room hotel with an indoor water park is also planned, but no timeline for those venues was given. The "Heartland" amusement park will feature regional themes, like Great Plains, Bayou Bay, Big Timber Falls, Stony Point Harbor, Liberty Village and Electropolis.

"The scale and quality of the development will be unlike anything else in the region, making Vinita, Oklahoma, a can’t-miss destination for families around the world," said Kristy Adams, senior executive vice president of sales and marketing.

Adams added that the company is not currently looking for partners to help finance the park’s $2 billion price tag, either.

American Heartland run by Gene Bicknell, who formerly owned the most Pizza Hut franchises

The executive director for the creative team behind the park is multi-millionaire Gene Bicknell. A native of Pittsburgh, Kansas, he joined the Pizza Hut franchise network in 1962, just four years after the first location opened in Wichita.

He aggressively expanded after PepsiCo. bought Pizza Hut and took his company public under the name National Pizza Co., later known as NPC International Inc.

Under Bicknell, the company operated hundreds of Pizza Hut locations worldwide, as well as taking over Tony Romas and operating some Wendy's locations, too. He sold the company in 2006 for $615 million, setting off a tax battle with his home state. At the time, NPC operated 790 Pizza Hut stores in the United States.

More: A theme park could transform the Cherokee reservation. Officials say they haven't been looped in

Gene Bicknell had Kansas repay him $63 million after tax battle

A tax dispute between Bicknell and the state of Kansas stemmed from where he resided at the time of the NPC sale. Bicknell claimed he moved to Florida three years before the sale while the Kansas Department of Revenue maintained he was living in Kansas during the tax years the sale was made.

An initial review of the matter concluded in 2010 when Bicknell was sent a $41 million a tax bill, including interest and penalties on what was originally a $29 million income tax assessment. He paid that amount three years later, but also filed a lawsuit, with interest growing to $63 million as litigation was ongoing.

“The money is not the issue here, the issue is what’s fair and what’s just,” Bicknell said at the time.

Fast forward to 2022 and Kansas Supreme Court unanimously ruled in his favor, ordering the state to pay him the $63 million.

Mansion Entertainment producing TV and movies, boasts 'one of a kind' recording studio' in Branson

Since announcing their expansion into different genres of entertainment, Mansion has been busy. The company has produced "Ozark Mountain Symphony," a TV special playing on American Public Television, as well as a short, animated film titled "Gene's 6th Symphony" that has premiered at film festivals.

Bicknell was a writer for the film and Wilhite, a producer.

Both individuals have extensive backgrounds with audio production, with Bicknell owning several AM radio stations nationwide and hosting the program "Patriot Podcast" and Wilhite performing gospel music at venues throughout the region.

That experience plays into another side of the business: "Mansion Sound." The department boasts a studio with a 96-input configuration on an audio mixing console. According to a 2022 news release, it is the only such console to be installed and in operation worldwide.

Employees who worked on Disneyland and Disney World theme parks involved with building American Heartland in Oklahoma

According to American Heartland, the creative team features over 500 years of combined experience with Disney and Entertainment experience.

Among them is Steve Hedrick, who has spent half of his 40-year career in the industry working with Disney. He'll be leading a design team that features over 20 former Disney Parks builders and Walt Disney Imagine.

Others include Tom Turley, who has 45 years of experience with planning and development as Disney Land International and Dan Hilsen, who has 30 years of experience as ride engineer with Disney World International.

Vinita is in Cherokee Nation. What role has tribe had with development of theme park?

Located in Craig County, the Cherokee Nation is currently one of the region's largest employers. Leaders with the tribe said they met with developers a year ago, but heard the announced plan through the media.

Mansion spokesperson Kristy Adams sends invites to the official announcement were sent to Cherokee leaders. According to Adams, executives also met last month with the Inter-Tribal Council of the nine tribes based in the northeast corner of Oklahoma, however the Cherokee Nation is not part of the group.

Cherokee officials said they welcome the effort to grow the regional economy. “Cherokee Nation and Chief Hoskin wish the community and the developers well on the project,” the tribe said.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Who owns American Heartland Theme Park? Why is it coming to Oklahoma?