Wonder no more, Bradley.

Barbie, He-Man, American Girl, Hot Wheels and Barney could be on their way to the village of nearly 15,500 residents.

An iconic name in the world of amusement and adventure is committed to becoming part of Bradley.

Mattel Inc., an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company headquartered in El Segundo, California, has signed on to be the title brand for the now-anticipated $90 million indoor waterpark in Bradley, immediately southeast of the Northfield Square mall property.

The park will be known as Mattel Wonder Indoor Waterpark.

Mattel is set to construct five indoor waterparks, one being in Orlando, Florida. It has already announced plans to develop an outdoor Mattel Adventure Park in Glendale, Arizona.

The Bradley development would represent the largest single entertainment and tourist development in the history of Kankakee County.

If all falls into place, the development would attract hundreds of thousands of visitors to the section of northeastern Illinois and likely spur even more development in terms of serving travelers here – meaning more hotels, restaurants and retail.

This development – especially with the Mattel name attached to it – would become the largest economic engine within Kankakee County.

The cost of the park, which was previously stated to be the largest indoor waterpark in Illinois, has grown by about $10 million, based on the Mattel-Bradley agreement.

On the flip side, Watson and village partners believe the Mattel partnership has the ability to increase annual sales by upwards of 30%.

“This is instant brand recognition,” Bradley Mike Watson said. “... I’m very excited for this opportunity.”

“We are thrilled to death to have this partnership. It’s not as big as Disney, but it’s close,” Watson said after the meeting.

The themed indoor waterpark will be all-things-Mattel, with each section of the complex devoted to different iconic characters or games of the brand.

The village administration, at the request of Mattel representation, sought to become the title brand for the 2-plus-acre waterpark, which will now be located on a 40-acre portion of village-owned farmland just south of the mall and immediately southeast of the hotels at the site.

The goal is to break ground in the spring or summer of 2026. The project will consume 25-30 acres of this 40-acre site.

At Monday’s Bradley Village Board meeting, trustees unanimously approved a licensing agreement with Project Play Holdings, LLC, which represents Mattel.

“Mattel was looking for the Chicago market,” Watson said. “They were looking for the structure we are building and at the consultant (American Resort Management) we have been working with.”

The village believes the waterpark and the youth baseball-softball complex will feed off each other.

“This will give us a leg up on competing ballparks. We will now have a waterpark and that will lead to extended visitor stays. This will also help expand the field of ball teams coming here,” Watson noted.

‘A great location’ - Mattel

Village leadership has been in discussions with Mattel, founded in January 1945, for only three months.

Village leadership and Project Play Holdings came to an agreement about three weeks ago, and plans to develop the waterpark immediately next to the mall were altered, pushing the development further from the mall, but closer to Interstate 57 on land that had been a 40-acre cornfield just this past year.

Mattel will be planning to brand the park with its recognizable brands which have led to highly profitable toys, games and movies.

With estimated assets of $6.5 billion, Mattel is entering the world of indoor waterparks, and Bradley was nearing the final design phases for its massive waterpark.

A Mattel representative, Julie Freeland, vice president of Global Based Entertainment, toured sections of Bradley last week to gain a first-hand perspective of the village’s development – current and future – and came away impressed.

“This is a great location. A great location,” Freeland said at the conclusion of the three-hour tour, which included lunch at the 315 Sports Complex restaurant, Plate’D Social. “We are going to be great partners. This is amazing.”

Watson hopes that Bradley will be the first one to reach operational status.

Bradley had hoped to have this waterpark ready for guests near the end of 2027. Park engineers are still hopeful to reach that timeline, but with some design adjustments sought by Mattel, the opening could be pushed back until the first half of 2028.

The waterpark is expected to become even larger, perhaps up to 2.5 to 3 acres under roof.

Chris Schroeder, CEO of I-dentity Group of St. Petersburg, Florida, also was part of the Bradley tour.

He is working with Mattel on this project.

I-dentity specializes in crafting experiences that “redefine hospitality, dining, sports, entertainment and active lifestyles.”

Watson and the village board had been planning to develop the waterpark on their own. Mattel, however, reached out to the village about the development.

The village shared its park vision, and Mattel expressed interest in further discussion. The two sides continued having talks, and Watson, finance director Rob Romo and Todd Gereaux, with village-contracted engineering firm, MG2A, traveled to Florida about three weeks ago to go over final details of the partnership.

Mattel name means much

The park, which has had first-year attendance figures in the range of 325,000 to 400,000, is expected to attract upward of 100,000 more in attendance due to the Mattel name and its inventory of brands.

The park had been projected to have daily attendance between 1,700 and 2,000. Those figures will grow based on this agreement.

Concerning revenues, American Resort Management believes the site’s second full year of waterpark operation will have revenues of $28 million, an increase of $10 million based on projections prior to Mattel joining the project.

“This will get us out of the gate really fast,” Romo said.

Based on the village’s previous timeline, the park has been set for a spring or early summer 2026 groundbreaking.

The project’s start remains largely intact, but the completion – which still is targeted for late 2027 – could drift into the early months of 2028, noted Rick Coleman, CEO and principal of American Resort Management, an operations and consulting firm for waterparks, hotels, resorts, conference centers, private clubs and restaurants, who has been overseeing the design and management of the development.

Financing for the development will come through the sale of a pair of about $80 million of government obligation bonds, which the village board has already approved.

The bonds are to be financed through a combination of village tax increment financing revenues, hotel taxes and business district taxes. These three revenue streams are already in place.

It had been first announced that the park would be located next to the largely vacant Northfield Square mall. It was anticipated that the mall and the park would be connected.

However, the village recently determined the park would be better suited to be only a short distance southeast of that spot, pushing it closer to the interstate, which offers greater exposure.

The push away from the actual mall property leaves the door wide open for what type of development could eventually be suited for that site.