The proposed Kansas Outdoor Lifestyle Center at Clinton Lake would be a 1,500-acre facility hosting outdoor activities such as whitewater rafting and kayaking, zip lines, biking, running, hiking, climbing and paddle boarding.

Topeka ? Gov. Sam Brownback said Wednesday that he fully supports the idea of developing an outdoor recreation center at Clinton State Park and he thinks such an attraction would be a boon for the Lawrence-area economy.

“I love it. I think this would be fantastic,” Brownback said. “Now you’ve got to make all the numbers work. But I think Lawrence would be a great host community, and now we’ve got the South Lawrence Trafficway, we’re getting the road structure between Kansas City and Lawrence as high-speed.”

On Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission heard a presentation about the proposal from Jeff Wise, CEO of the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and Robin Jennison, secretary of the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism. The Douglas County Commission was expected to hear a similar presentation Wednesday.

In a separate interview, Jennison said Wednesday that the idea of developing a major attraction at Clinton State Park dates back to the late 1990s, when he was majority leader in the Kansas House, and he helped push through a bill that authorized a resort-style hotel near the lake.

The proposed Kansas Outdoor Lifestyle Center at Clinton Lake would be a 1,500-acre facility hosting outdoor activities such as whitewater rafting and kayaking, zip lines, biking, running, hiking, climbing and paddle boarding.

At that time, though, the city of Lawrence had not developed as far west as it has today, Jennison said. Since then, however, the South Lawrence Trafficway has been completed, and the city is building a new sewage treatment plant to better serve the west side, something he said would be necessary for such a facility.

When Jennison became secretary of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism, he tried again to solicit proposals from hotel developers. But he said most prospective developers told the agency that the state first needed to develop the sports-related attraction before trying to develop a hotel.

“Build the attraction first, then the retail builds up around it,” he said.

The proposal being discussed calls for a manmade whitewater rafting and kayaking facility, rock climbing, zip lines and other activities. That kind of development was specifically outlined in Brownback’s “Roadmap 2.0” agenda when he ran for re-election in 2014.

“It’s totally been initiated by us,” Jennison said.

Jennison acknowledged that the facility would be a radical departure from the way the state park is managed now.

“You know, I could go out to the lake and spend all day fishing, and I’d be perfectly happy,” he said. “But the younger generation wants to have more kinds of activity when they go out.”

He also tried to dispel the notion that the bucolic, forested character of the park would be degraded by turning the area into an amusement park.

The proposed Kansas Outdoor Lifestyle Center at Clinton Lake would be a 1,500-acre facility hosting outdoor activities such as whitewater rafting and kayaking, zip lines, biking, running, hiking, climbing and paddle boarding.

“It’s a lifestyle center, not an amusement park,” he said. “Some people are afraid this would take out a whole bunch of hiking trails, but it would actually lead to having more trails out there.”

And by getting more people out to the lake to enjoy outdoor activities, Jennison said, the hope would be to get more people engaged in trying to preserve the natural resources of the area.

“That’s why Lawrence fits in so well with this,” he said. “As a community, Lawrence is one of the most environmentally conscious communities in the state.”

Brownback said he has been briefed about the proposal several times as it was being developed. And he said he thinks sales tax revenue bonds, or STAR bonds, would be the most likely source of financing.

Some Kansas lawmakers, however, have grown skeptical about STAR bond projects, and last year they attempted to curtail the administration’s authority to approve such projects.

Officials have estimated the cost of the whitewater rafting facility at about $70 million, but Jennison said he thinks it would take considerably more for the entire project with all the other amenities.