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Oasis Reboot: Inside The Invitation-Only Meeting For A $500M Amusement Park At Lake Of The Ozarks

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Traffic Light at Oasis at Lakeport
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The showroom at Big Thunder Marine buzzed with anticipation on Thursday, Nov. 20, as scores of subcontractors — from pool guys to waterproofers to glass experts — gathered to hear from the investors and developers of the most ambitious project Lake of the Ozarks has seen since the building of Bagnell Dam nearly 100 years ago: Oasis at Lakeport.

In fact, the half-billion dollar project is the largest-ever investment into tourism in the state of Missouri, according to lead developer Jeff Tegethoff. The project started well, with fast and visible progress, in 2023. But construction ground to a halt in early 2025, and subcontractors were forced to move on to other jobs.

This meeting on Nov. 20 was organized by the development team for two purposes: first as a mea culpa, and secondly as a relaunch. Among the dozens of people gathered: the swimming pool contractor for the indoor/outdoor waterpark, the glass contractor for the hotel, and the waterproofing contractor for the building foundations, not to mention the team from Brinkmann Constructors, the general contractor for the build. As they munched on pulled pork and brisket from Barn-B-Que, Tegethoff stepped up to the mic and addressed the crowd, beginning with an acknowledgment that the project timeline had not gone as planned.

“ This has been an incredibly complicated process to get to where we are today,” he said. “And it does pain me to take third parties through that. But thank you, thank you, thank you.”

Tegethoff explained the cause of the delays: “We were supposed to close on the timeshares in December of 2023 with clean title… We did not get clean title until April of ’25. We had to hire bail bondsmen, skip tracers, all kinds of people to find timeshare owners who had money waiting for them at the title company.”

With that year-and-a-half delay behind them, Tegethoff said they were able to close on the project loan — $285 million. He also broke down the capital stack for the project:

$95 million — owner equity (cash input from investors)

$100 million — bonds

$285 million — loan

$15 million — loan against the amusement park rides

TOTAL: $495 million

“We've already certified all the cost as well,” he added, “So it's not a traditional draw process where you're waiting on a bank to fund. All the money's funded up front in escrow with certified costs, plan reviews and all that already done.” 

Tegethoff introduced Fred Ross, owner of Big Thunder Marine and one of the primary investors on the project.

“ Fred and I share a lot of things in common,” he said, “but one of the things is our fondest memories of our families and childhood are at the Lake of the Ozarks. I was born in ’75. That was the year my parents got their first place at the Lake of the Ozarks, and I grew up multi-generational boating down here… my fondest childhood memories are at the Lake. And I know Fred and his family have been down here for decades as well.” 

Upon taking the mic, Ross revealed his own background — the oldest of 12 children from a blue-collar Midwest family that loved vacationing at Lake of the Ozarks.

“My dad had his 90th birthday a couple days ago,” he said. “And he has 72 grandkids and great grandkids. So I’m — we’re — all about family, and this whole project that we're doing is about family. It's just to give the Lake something that it really needs. And this has turned into a labor of love. It originally was just an investment, and it became way more than that.” 

Ross too apologized to the subcontractors in the room for the delays, acknowledging the financial challenges the situation had created. 

“ I wish we didn't have these delays. It's painful for everybody. I know. It was painful, you guys. I’m sorry, and I mean that,” he said. However, he spoke of his optimism about the Lake of the Ozarks and hinted that he was far from finished investing in this place. 

“There’ll be more, I promise you. I won’t be done at the Lake,” he said. “This is where I'm going to retire. This is my deal. I don't want to go to Florida.”

Within two weeks of the meeting, heavy equipment could be seen rumbling around the long-quiet job site. And by Monday, Dec. 8, work had clearly resumed, with everyone targeting a fall-2026 opening for the long-anticipated amusement park on the shores of Lake of the Ozarks.

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