1. OriginallyappearedinPlayandPlaygroundMagazine|Volume16No.2|Summer2016 www.playgroundprofessionals.com/magazine
SURFPARKS
ESTB 2016

2. OriginallyappearedinPlayandPlaygroundMagazine|Volume16No.2|Summer2016www.playgroundprofessionals.com/magazine
TO A CITY NEAR YOU
by John Luff
Coming
A future full of surf parks and man-made
waves is nearly upon us. With several new
venues having opened over the past two
years and many more coming online in
the near future; it’s now, more so than ever,
becoming a relevant topic in today’s desti-
nation development conversations.
The state of surf pools and man-made
wave technology is evolving at a rapidly
increasing pace throughout the world and
within the next 5-10 years there may very
well be surf parks and man-made surfing
destinations in major cities throughout the
world.
From our perspective at Surf Park Cen-
tral, it’s important to first define what we
believe a surf park should encompass. At
the base level, a surf park is a recreational
action and adventure water sports facility
for enthusiasts of all ages who have an
interest in surfing and riding waves. Surf
parks are man-made surfing destinations
that feature surf pools, wave machines
and/or surfing lagoons offering high
quality waves and encompass the best of
beach culture and the surf lifestyle. Unlike
your typical day at the beach, surf park
experiences can guarantee ideal condi-
tions for surfing in a safe and controlled
environment.
James Harold aka DJ James Z at
Disney's Typhoon Lagoon Wave Pool
- Surf Park Central

3. OriginallyappearedinPlayandPlaygroundMagazine|Volume16No.2|Summer2016 www.playgroundprofessionals.com/magazine
Surf parks are ideal sports, leisure
and entertainment anchors for hotels,
resorts, shopping centers, entertainment
districts and sports parks but can also
work as stand alone venues. Using less
space, less water and requiring far less
maintenance than a ski resort or golf
course, but with a much greater appeal
and focus on surfing and the beach life-
style environment. Surf parks serve to
create a unique real estate development
initiative that will stand well clear of
the competition, increase the geograph-
ical reach of the available market and
increase overall demand, price and sales
rates for new property developments.
Centered around large surf pools
and man-made surfing lagoons, surf
parks are commercial venues offering
better waves than those in the ocean
the majority of the time. These include
beaches, crystal clear waters, bars and
restaurants, retail, outdoor event space,
hotels, spas, gyms, athlete training
facilities, ancillary sports and significant
expansion possibilities.
Surf parks are designed to accom-
modate global events and in addition to
being used on a daily basis by the local
populations, they will also rank amongst
the most iconic and marketable tourist
attractions, giving a boost to the real
estate in the immediate vicinity, and to
the image, economy and sporting level
of the regions and countries in which
they are located.
Even though wave pools capable of
producing waves suitable for surfing
have been around since the late 1960s
when Phil Dexter revealed Big Surf Ar-
izona to the world; it’s only been in the
past few years that dedicated surf parks
have begun to enter the realm of viable
business opportunities.
A variety of surf venues featuring a
broad range of wave generating technol-
ogy types have opened for business over
the past 2-3 years. The largest of these,
Surf Snowdonia in the UK, opened last
fall and is now in its first full season
of operation. There’s currently several
more under development domesti-
cally including Doug Coors’s NLand
Surf Park set to open in Austin, TX
this spring. Globally there’s significant
activity with projects in various phases
of development in Australia, Austria,
Canada, China, Germany, Japan, the
Netherlands, Russia, Thailand, South
Korea, the UAE and beyond. This
doesn’t even begin to take into account
all of the projects early in the conceptu-
alization / planning stages that are still
flying under the radar.
To put it simply, the surf park indus-
try is gaining momentum and already
making waves available to people
around the world in places far beyond
the oceans and coasts.
1. What has recently changed that makes
now a good time to develop a man-
made surf feature/venue?
a. There’s a variety of factors that make
now the best time in history to begin
development on man-made surf des-
tinations. Between the International
Surfing Association’s big push for
Olympic Surfing potentially being
made official in August of this year
to the experience driven economy
that is changing the way people
spend money, now is the time.
b. The advances and innovations that
have been made in the wave tech-
nology sector over the past few years
were in large part made possible by
the correlating advances in comput-
ing power. With wave technology
companies now having access to
reasonably priced computing power
they’re able to simulate, test and
rapidly innovate their new wave
generating technology and pool /
lagoon designs. This has led to some
of the best man-made waves the
world has ever seen being brought to
the market in the past six months.
2. Why aren’t there already
dozens or hundreds of surf parks in
existence around the world today?
a. There’s many reasons that could
be listed here although it’s worth
noting perhaps the two biggest
factors that to a certain degree run
in parallel.
i. As of today there’s still no dedi-
cated surf park venue on the plan-
et featuring a large wave / surf
pool capable of generating a full
spectrum of waves ranging from
beginner (1-2’) – professional/
elite level (6’-8’+) that has proven
the long-term economic viability
of these types of projects. Once
we begin to see the current gener-
ation of surf parks continue to be
developed and achieve stabilized
(and profitable) operations you’ll
soon see surf parks being devel-
oped in major markets on a global
scale.
ii. Perhaps one of, if not the largest
variables at play here that has
enabled a profitable surf park
business model is the technology
innovations in the wave generat-
ing sector that have taken place
Why Surf Parks?
Conceptual Rendering of the SurfLoch SurfPool
Rif010 Project in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Photo: Wave Loch

4. OriginallyappearedinPlayandPlaygroundMagazine|Volume16No.2|Summer2016www.playgroundprofessionals.com/magazine
over the past few years. While not
every business model can support
every wave technology there’s
certainly several that should
work quite well as long as these
surf pools and man-made surf-
ing lakes are able to perform to
the level their manufacturers are
promising.
2. What is the demographic profile of the
average surfer and surf park custom-
ers?
a. Surfing is an interesting recreational
pursuit / sport when evaluating the
demographics as it encompasses
people from both genders and near-
ly every age, nationality, religion,
ethnicity and culture.
b. In the U.S., the common surfer has a
median age of 34 years old, house-
hold income exceeding $75,000
USD and a willingness to travel
significant distances in search of
waves. On a ‘per-surf’ basis the av-
erage U.S. surfer is spending nearly
$40 per session chasing waves found
in nature.
c. When we begin to take into account
demographics specific to surf park
customers what we often find is that
it’s a very broad spectrum. The ages
vary greatly and oftentimes you’ll
see 3 generations participating
and sharing waves simultaneously
within a single surf session. The ma-
jority of the customer base within
a surf park is made up of first-time
beginners to beginner / interme-
diate surfing ability levels. This is
generally rounded out with both
the local / destination crowd and
membership base that have more
advanced surfing skills and desire
larger / more high performance
waves.
Some of the most common
questions arising from
developers contemplating
investments in wave
machines, surf pools and
surf parks include:
1. How much land is required / how
much space do I need for a wave ma-
chine, surf pool or man-made surfing
lake?
a. This is a question with a broad range
of potential answers which ulti-
mately depends on the vision of the
developer / investment group and
the potential constraints of site size
and the project budget.
b. If you’re taking into account only
the wave machine / surf pool size
this can range in space allocations
comparable to a tennis court (2,000+
square feet) to that of over 10 foot-
ball fields (57,600 square feet each)
and nearly anything in between.
2. What are the capital requirements?
How much is it going to cost to build?
a. With a large range of wave generat-
ing technologies, manufacturers and
overall man-made wave system sizes
there’s a correspondingly large range
in overall capital requirements.
b. When assessing the landscape of
wave technology choices capable of
delivering waves suitable for surfing
Albee Layer on his path to victory at the Red Bull's Unleashed
event in the Wavegarden at Surf Snowdonia.
Photo: Red Bull / Olaf Pignataro

5. OriginallyappearedinPlayandPlaygroundMagazine|Volume16No.2|Summer2016 www.playgroundprofessionals.com/magazine
it’s also important to take into con-
sideration the capital / cost implica-
tions of delivering different types of
surfing experiences.
i. For example: If you want to build
a standing wave / stationary wave
machine this can be achieved
within budgets ranging from +/-
$1m to $3m USD. If you’re look-
ing to build a world class surf pool
/ man-made surfing lake this will
likely require investments ranging
from +/- $10m - $25m and be-
yond. With this in mind, it’s good
to understand that a surfing fea-
ture / attraction is capital intensive
and will require investment levels
ranging from $1m-$25m+++.
3. What’s the best business model?
a. Depending on what the surrounding
real estate currently is (hospitality,
retail, residential, sports park, etc…)
or what the proposed master plan
calls for there are several models
that can perform well depending on
the developers / investors definition
of success. Developing the appro-
priate size and type of venue will
depend upon a variety of factors that
will ultimately need to be explored
and discussed in detail prior to com-
mitting to a specific business model.
b. If you’re a municipal or government
entity your definition of success is
likely different than that of a private
development / investment group.
There’s several ways and operating
models in which you can design and
build a surf park facility that earns
revenues exceeding the operations
/ maintenance costs while still
providing a positive socioeconomic
impact.
4. Is our city / market a good candidate
for a surf park?
a. Determining the feasibility and
economic viability of developing a
surf park is serious business. Prior
to making major decisions on wave
technology choice, size of the surf
feature / attraction and the overall
feature / amenity offering there
should be a focus on market re-
search and gaining a clearer under-
standing of what the market can
sustain.
b. It’s also important to take into
account the local, regional, domes-
tic and international destination
appeal of your venue if designed,
built and marketed appropriately. If
you’re looking to draw a significant
amount of your customer base from
distances far and wide this needs to
be a clear goal from the outset and
made known to your entire project
team from day one of your feasibility
and planning process.
5. What’s the optimal feature and ameni-
ty mix within a surf park?
a. This is one of the most important
questions when it comes to the
conceptualization, planning and
design of your venue. Variables at
play include the market you’re in,
Rob Kelly on the SurfStream by American
Wave Machines at Surf's Up NH.
Photographer: Carter McCoy

6. OriginallyappearedinPlayandPlaygroundMagazine|Volume16No.2|Summer2016www.playgroundprofessionals.com/magazine
the primary customers you’ll be
targeting, the capacity of your venue
and the estimated average amount
of time people will be spending on
your property.
b. The feature and amenity mix can
vary greatly depending on the prop-
erty type and the overall business
model. Generally speaking, the
primary elements include a surfing
feature, food & beverage component,
retail space and supporting facilities
(admin, restrooms, locker rooms,
etc…) If it’s a larger venue and the
owner / investor group is looking
for a greater destination appeal then
the necessity of a broader amenity /
attraction mix comes into play.
6. What are the key positions and areas
of expertise that a surf park project
team should be comprised of?
a. From the outset it’s critical to the
future of your project to assemble
a team that will give your surf park
development the highest likelihood
of making the journey from concept
to an operationally successful reality.
b. Key team members may include
those with relevant experience in
aquatics development, design, archi-
tecture, engineering, finance, project
management, operations real estate
development and specialty expertise
in the planning, development and
operations of surf parks and man-
made surf venues.
Now, more so than ever in history, the
world is talking about investing in and
developing man-made surf destinations.
In 2015, more people surfed outside the
ocean in pools and on man-made waves
than ever before. This is not a fad, it’s
already proving to be a trend that will
continue to grow at a rapid pace.
To learn more we encourage you to
attend Surf Park Summit 2, the interna-
tional conference on man-made surf-
ing destinations. Hosted by Surf Park
Central and San Diego State University’s
Center for Surf Research in conjunction
with Surf Expo on September 7, 2016 in
Orlando, Florida.
Request an invitation at SurfParkCen-
tral.com/SurfParkSummit2
Kelly Slater enjoying his Super Session Saturday.
Photo: Kelly Slater Wave Company
Pro Surfer Kalani Chapman at Surf's Up NH
Photographer: Nick Tribuno
JOHN LUFF
President and Founder of San Diego based Surf
Park Central, the world’s leading resource for surf
parks, surf pools and the development of man-
made surf destinations. John is also Co-Founder
and a Managing Director at Surf Park Solutions.
Together, these businesses are leaders in devel-
opment, consulting and media services to the
emerging surf park industry.
surfparkcentral.com