Schlitterbahn Waterpark Kansas City was a water park that opened on July 15, 2009 in Kansas City, Kansas. It was announced in September 2005 by Schlitterbahn Waterparks. The , $750 million development included a nearly waterpark, which is Schlitterbahn's fourth waterpark and its first outside Texas. Groundbreaking took place September 18, 2007 on the land formerly occupied by the Wyandotte County Fairgrounds and the Unified Government courthouse annex, across Interstate 435 from the Kansas Speedway and Village West. History Phase 1 included the opening of 12 water attractions, 3 restaurants, and 2 shops. Of those attractions, three were purchased from the former Geauga Lake amusement park in Ohio. Phase 2, named Schlitterbahn Vacation Village Resort was originally planned to include over 1,000 hotel rooms, a Scheels sporting goods store, and a Riverwalk area consisting of shops and restaurants on 300 acres surrounding the water park. Those plans were stalled and eventually abandoned due to the ongoing Great Recession. An expansion of the water park opened on April 30, 2011, with six new attractions. Verrückt and accident In November 2012, Schlitterbahn Waterparks announced plans for the world's tallest and fastest water slide, Verrückt. Designed by Schlitterbahn co-owner Jeff Henry, Verrückt was a three-person raft slide with an uphill section. The initial drop was a 17-story plunge with a five-story uphill section. At , the starting point was taller than Niagara Falls and reached a maximum speed of . It opened on July 10, 2014, after multiple delays. In August 2016, 10-year old Caleb Schwab was killed while riding Verrückt. The death occurred when the raft he was in went airborne at the lower bump and struck a metal support of the netting, decapitating him. The other two passengers, both women, were injured in the incident — one suffered a broken jaw, while the other suffered a facial bone fracture and needed stitches. In the immediate aftermath, the park was closed pending an inspection. Although the park reopened three days later, the ride remained closed. An investigation found that Caleb, who weighed , had been allowed to sit in the front of the raft, rather than between the two women accompanying him — one weighed , while the other weighed . This led to an uneven weight distribution that contributed to the raft going airborne, despite the cumulative weight of , less than the maximum recommended weight of . Engineers who inspected