Anchor Activity Park At Grand Lake Opens; Dedicates New Memorial To USS Oklahoma

Grand Lake is becoming an even hotter tourist attraction. A new 11,000 square foot activity park is opening today just in time for the holiday weekend featuring the USS Oklahoma Memorial.

The new $12 million Anchor Activity Park is all fun and games. They have an arcade, sports facilities, and dining. But across the street sits the World War Two memorial serving as reminder of what makes all of this possible.

"There's been a great, heavy price paid for our freedom," said Paul Green, WWII Veteran.

Green served in the Army for more than 30 years and is now a part of the American Legion out of Grove. Green was humbled to be a part of today's dedication of the World War Two Memorial at Shangri-La Resort Hotel's new Activity Park "The Anchor" at Grand Lake.

"This is amazing. I never expected anything like this. I don't feel that I deserve it," Green said.

The memorial is a replica of a 20,000-pound anchor from the USS Oklahoma. It includes the names of 429 sailors and marines who died aboard the battleship during the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

State Representative Josh West spoke at today's ceremony and said, as a veteran himself, this hits close to home.

"I've got scars and skin grafts on my legs, and I always use that as motivation to do something good," said West. “The World War II generation, they influenced everybody in the world and everybody that came after them and they truly are the greatest generation.”

West said out 16 million Americans who served in WWII between 200,000-235,000 are still alive and we lose over 250 a day.

Lieutenant Governor Matt Pinnell said it is no secret that Monkey Island is a popular Independence Day destination. So, what better place than this to honor those who made things like lake days possible.

"I think it's extremely important at tourism attractions, inside our schools and everywhere in between, we continue to teach the history of this country and why we are still a free country today," Pinnell said.

The USS Oklahoma monument is the inspiration for the name of the new $12 million activity park: The Anchor.

Shangri-La offers 27-holes of championship golf, 119-rooms, 9,000 square feet of convention and meeting space, a full-service medical spa, fitness center, steam room and sauna, an indoor pool, and a 6,500 square foot outdoor resort pool with splash pad, tanning ledge, hot tub, food and beverage services, and fire pits.

Grand Lake’s resort hotel is continuing to expand its amenities to include a 11,000 square foot indoor facility with virtual reality games, Trackman golf simulators, LaserShot shooting simulators, CXC driving and flight simulators, escape room games, arcade games, pop-a-shot basketball, billiards and ping-pong tables, shuffleboard, darts, several sporting event video screens, and an indoor-outdoor bar and lounge on Grand Lake.

The expansion also features outdoor activities including a new racquet club facility with four outdoor tennis courts, six pickleball courts, basketball, sand volleyball, fire pits, a kids' fishing pond, an outdoor event area, and a mini-Fenway Wiffle Ballpark.

The Activity Park construction brings the total investment of the resort facility to almost $90 million. Festivities are scheduled throughout the holiday weekend and include the Monkey Island Fireworks tomorrow evening at the resort.