The director of the Kansas Department of Tourism made a stop in Salina Tuesday afternoon to drop off a check. Bridgette Jobe was at Rolling Hills Zoo to present a $75,000 check in support of the creation of the highly anticipated Tiger Falls exhibit.

Jobe tells KSAL News the funding is via the Kansas Attraction Development Grant program. This year there was a pool of $1 million for grant funding, while over $4 million dollars was requested for various projects across the state. Not all projects received funding.

Jobe says the Tiger Falls Project is a great of example of the kind of projects they were looking for.

Jobe says the Attraction Development Grant program is all about bringing new visitors to Kansas.

The Tiger Falls exhibit will be a  70,000 square foot dynamic new attraction designed to showcase Asian species. Eventually there could be six or seven Amur Tigers housed. The Zoo’s snow leopards will also call the Tiger Falls area home, as will two red pandas which have already been selected for transfer.

By offering guests an immersive and educational wildlife experience, the Tiger Falls project represents a significant investment in both conservation education, and regional tourism.

Rolling Hills Zoo Director of Development & Marketing Linda Henderson tells KSAL News it will take about $3.5 million to complete Tiger Falls, with the bulk of the funding already secured.

Tiger Falls is expected to be complete in the spring of 2027.