‘The gateway to adventure’ | New changes coming to Exit 407

SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - Exit 407 in Sevier County is known to tourists visiting the Great Smoky Mountains National Park or stopping at the popular Buc-ees while traveling on I-40.

Changes were being made to how a new attraction off the exit will take place.

“All 200 acres of the land you’re seeing behind me and around me off of Exit 407, otherwise known as ‘The gateway to adventure,’ is going to be developed for a big tourist attraction,” CEO of OE Experiences Matthew Cross said. “But, that plan changed ever so slightly.”

The master plan begins with adding a resort for tourists to be able to experience the mountains.

“The next sequential step was going to be retail dining entertainment followed by hospitality, destination resorts and what we have found what the industry trends are supporting is,” Cross said. “People really want to stay where they play.”

The most recent addition to the exit was the Buc-ees. Since it opened last year, millions of people have stopped in.

“There was some skepticism about whether or not people would stop. Well luckily, we have now the hindsight of the year’s performance for Buc-ees where we had 9.3 million people,” Cross said. “Stop in this store and you can compare that to the 5-5.5 million that went to the Island or the 3.5 million that went to Dollywood. People are absolutely stopping here.”

Cross said OE Experiences hoped to share more information about the development in the next 5-6 weeks.