FOLEY — Take away all the bright colors, the slides, the attractions, and OWA’s indoor water park is being built for days like this.

On a rainy Thursday, OWA and Poarch Creek Indian officials announced the water park, rebranded from The Park at OWA to Tropic Falls at OWA, is targeted to open in May, ideally before Memorial Day and the start of the tourism season. A press conference followed by a media tour of the active construction site revealed economic impact estimates as high as the drop slide, a new mascot who will be named by the public and the beginnings of a massive hiring initiative to include more than 100 lifeguards.

“This is the exact reason we decided to do an indoor water park,” said Cody Williamson, CEO of Creek Indian Enterprises Development Authority, the economic development arm of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, which owns OWA.

Officials are hoping tourists and locals alike will think of Tropic Falls at OWA, located at Foley Beach Express and County Road 20, when it’s nice out and they want to lounge in the sun. They also want people flowing through the gates when it's rainy outside and they still want a beach experience. When there are jelly fish and rip currents, double red flags and unseasonable temperatures, when the real beach is closed, the 11 slides, 30,000-square-foot outdoor wave pool and the nation’s only indoor water park with a retractable roof and wall will be open year-round.

The entrance and connectivity to the amusement park will remain the same.

Stepping out from the traditional concrete building into the tropical-themed indoor structure, more than half of the 100,000 square feet enclosed in 1,800 high-impact glass panels, shining in shades of coastal blues, will be water-based attractions.

Six of the 11 slides are for thrill seekers, including a 75-foot free fall slide named “Tangerine Scream.” Other amenities include a lazy river, kids' play area with a 6-inch pool and tip buckets, private cabanas, concessions and a cocktail bar.

The retractable wall opens directly to the outdoor wave pool, called “Big Water Bay,” which will offer a surf simulator and a stage area with a 48-foot screen to show water-themed movies and Alabama football.

The outdoor area will also feature a restaurant overlooking the surf simulator and beach area with seating, private cabana rentals and restrooms with lockers.

“What better place to go in the summer and winter?” said Stephanie Bryan, Tribal chair & CEO of the Poarch Creek Indians, calling it a “slice of tropical paradise” and a “win-win for the Tribe and for Foley.”

LIFEGUARDS, OTHER POSITIONS TO BE FILLED
There’s a lot to do between Thursday and opening day.

The site was filled with construction workers rather than sunscreen-clad guests. Men in hard hats climbed to the top of the slides, welding them together so people can eventually slide down. Rather than climbing onto a tube in the lazy river, workers climbed power tools down ladders from gaps in the steel.

There are 250 construction workers currently employed. Another 150 will be added on over the next few months.

Later this spring, sounds of drilling, stapling, blowing, wiring, hammering and sawing will be replaced with laughing, splashing and cannonballing.

Williamson, of Creek Enterprises, said that at one point amid the initial COVID-19 insurgence, they weren’t sure they’d ever get to even this point.
Tropic Falls at OWA broke ground in January 2020; unknowingly a terrible time to begin a $74 million investment.

“We actually shelved it at one point,” Williamson said.

The glass structure had already been purchased, so they went ahead and got that up as COVID-19 took hold. They picked up again in Spring 2021.

Later that summer, Ida threatened the area but only caused some damage to paneling. Williamson said the glass can withstand more than 160-mile-per-hour winds, one of the larger expenses.

“The structure is good,” he said.

Once the long-term build out of the 520-acre master planned destination resort is finished, OWA will increase Baldwin County’s average economic output by $244 million. It will increase the average payroll to the South Alabama region by $78.5 million. It will create more than 2,000 direct and indirect jobs a year.

Bryan, of the Tribal Council, said the vision is to create a stable economy, job opportunities and a place for families to have fun and be safe, whether they’re tourists for six months out of the year or residents year-round.

Before that happens, OWA needs people to run the show.

They need to hire more than 300 employees for the water park beginning later this month. That includes group sales, restaurant workers, bartenders, administration and more than 100 lifeguards. About 75-100 will be year-round positions, the others seasonal between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

For employment opportunities, go to VisitOWA.com/employment.