In recent years, surf pools have become increasingly popular; both on the minds of those wanting to ride perfect, on-command waves, as well as those hoping to build developments that will attract business and build the economy. The original concept of “surf pool,” in many instances has transformed into “surf park,” where you can attract the general public to your facility, not limiting your customers to only hardcore surfers. The reality is that you can accomplish many economic goals with a surf pool as the center piece of a development project.
When you build a perfect wave, Surfers will come. They will bring their families, their friends and their friends’ families. Overtime, the wave itself and its surrounding facilities will attract a whole array of people, many of whom have never touched a surfboard in their lives. Whether someone wants to learn for the first time, simply drink a cocktail on the beach, or experience the many other aspects of the park, they are acting within a greater collective that is building a culture and driving economic growth. With public support and a thriving surf park, government and business entities can in fact, achieve lofty goals. At Endless Surf, we are proud to be a player in a few economic development-driven projects. So, we wanted to take a closer look at a few case studies:
With two upcoming projects in Paris and Ho Chi Minh City, both aimed at economic development and revitalization, Endless Surf is excited to be playing a role in the pursuit of achieving greater goals for community well-being. Let’s take a closer look at these projects and the purpose for their communities…
La Vague Grand – Paris, France
Aimed at revitalizing an underserved community on the fringes of the Paris metropolitan area, La Vague Grand has selected Endless Surf to act as the backbone to a sports, culture, and lifestyle utopia. Job creation will act as one the byproducts of this development, as a large amount of opportunities will arise for locals within the hospitality and sports industries operating within this new park. In addition, with most of the population being under 26, the park will serve as a sports and active lifestyle hub promoting positive culture within the area. The €250 million development is also expected to give back to the community by offering free surf access to local schools and community groups and provide roughly 900 units of new housing and residences to the area. Finally, because of its proximity to Charles-de-Gaulle International Airport and Paris’s city center, the project will attract people from around the world and welcome economic growth for the entire region.
In an interview with Wave Pool Mag, advisor to La Vague Grand, Baptiste Caulonque, touches on public buy-in by saying:
“We designed an active lifestyle program mixing boardsports (surf and skate), urban culture (3×3 basketball), and new sports (climbing) with agreements with the city to offer privileged access to schools and inhabitants” and “We have had great support from local and national governments since the start. The park, the sports, and programs will offer access to all and have always been greatly appreciated by everyone.”
See our full press announcement of the La Vague Grand project here.
Surf the Wave – Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
In an emerging area being named, Vietnam’s Silicon Valley, $12 billion of investments are aimed at building new infrastructure and commercial developments to support a new financial district that the country anticipates will contribute a massive amount of economic growth to the entire nation. As a tactic to attract and retain talent, a large mixed-use development acting as a residential, leisure, and lifestyle hub is coming to life from one of Asia’s most significant land developers, Surf the Wave. Endless Surf has been chosen to act as an anchor for this arena of watersports, accompanied by kayak and SUP lagoons and even a Triple Sheet Wave from our friends over at FlowRider. We, at Endless Surf, are honored to bring the first man-made waves to Vietnam, fitting within the greater goal of creating an appealing place to live for a highly skilled workforce.
“This development is a great example of how surf as an anchor attraction in larger mixed-use real estate investments creates a focus on lifestyle and wellness for the entire development. This added benefit comes in addition to the surf lagoon being a healthy business venue in its own right because of the high capacity and flexibility of the programable waves that Endless Surf offers,” said Paul Chutter, joint founder of Endless Surf.
See our full press announcement of Surf the Wave here.
Waves of change for the community at large
Surf parks have the potential to make waves of change within a community. Economic benefits aside, surf parks can also serve as a safe place for children and youth to socialize, as well as drive healthy and active lifestyles. With the right balance of wave types, amenities, and public buy-in, surf parks can exhibit monumental change within targeted areas. Perhaps surfers would argue that a 25 second ride on a perfectly peeling wave would suffice for a surf park’s ROI. However, the ROI that a surf park offers manifests itself in many areas, including the health, social wellbeing, culture, and local economies within a community. All in all, we can see that the surf pool becomes an anchor for wider development objectives – and that can only be a good thing, as it also puts surfing in reach to millions more around the world.
