URBNSURF Sydney Could Be Reality by 2018

URBNSURF Sydney Announced by Australia’s Wave Park Group

Press Release
April 27, 2016

Wave Park Group is proud to announce URBNSURF Sydney, a world leading surf park facility to be developed at Sydney Olympic Park.

Surfing is a sport actively enjoyed by more than 200,000 Sydney residents. It has a higher participation rate in NSW than Rugby League (2x), Basketball, Netball, Cricket, Hockey, Squash, Volleyball, AFL, Yoga and Fishing.

Sydney is blessed with a large number of surfing beaches, but access to those beaches and crowding in the line-up is becoming an increasing issue. URBNSURF Sydney will provide an authentic alternative to ocean based surfing and provide another opportunity for Sydney based surfers and those wanting to learn to surf to surf more safely, more easily and more often.

Strategically located only 14 kilometres west of the Sydney CBD, and at the demographic heart of Sydney, Sydney Olympic Park is the home to a large number of residents, workers, and students and receives over 10 million visitors per annum. Sydney Olympic Park is an ideal location for URBNSURF Sydney with its many sporting, entertainment, leisure venues, large open green spaces, playgrounds and cycleways, as well as hosting over 5,000 events each year.

URBSURF Sydney has been designed to use the latest version of the world’s leading man made wave generating technology, Wavegarden®. URBNSURF Sydney will deliver high quality, authentic surfing waves to suit all abilities.

Photo: URBNSURF Sydney

With a north-south lagoon orientation, URBNSURF Sydney has been designed to suit prevailing wind conditions.  LED lagoon lighting means you can surf night and day. The facility will also feature sustainable design, renewable energy and water saving systems, in keeping with Sydney Olympic Park’s strong environmental sustainability ethos.

Situated less than a kilometre from the Olympic Park train station, and immediately adjacent to a likely station location on the future $1bn Parramatta Light Rail line, URBNSURF Sydney will be accessible to over 2 million Sydney residents in under 30 minutes.

Multiple lagoon-side amenities will offer something for everyone, including:

• A quality licensed café, roof top bar and beach club
• Ability to have a coffee and watch the action, to grab a post-surf snack on the run, or to share a beer and a meal with friends after a session
• A fully equipped pro-shop will allow you to try-before-you-buy your new surfing hardware. A wetsuit and board rental centre
• The Academy, which in conjunction with world recognised sport science organisations based at Sydney Olympic Park, will deliver training programmes for all levels of surfing, from beginner to elite as well as a range of surf-fit styled personal and group fitness programmes
• Beach cabanas, a skate ramp, children’s playground, rock-climbing and parkour course
• High quality landscaping in keeping with the local Sydney coastal habitat, integrating the built environment into the natural
• Cutting edge RFID guest management and video tracking technology that will further enhance the visitor and surfing experience

URBNSURF Sydney promises to become a compelling and iconic destination for surfers and non-surfers alike.

Photo: URBNSURF Sydney

“Anyone that surfs would just be all over that,” Burrow says in a video for URBNSURF. “If you can pay for a certain amount of waves at a certain time, it’s kinda like going to the gym. People that work in an office who [normally] go to a gym, but instead I’m doing something way more fun. I’m going to a frigggin’ wave pool! I know I’d take that over the gym.”

New South Wales’ Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events and the Minister for Sport, the Honourable Stuart Ayres MP said, “The UrbnSurf Park is a massive vote of confidence in the future of western Sydney tourism.”

“Sydney Olympic Park is a thriving business, entertainment and sporting precinct. It’s already a hive of activity, from the skate parks to mountain cross; we can now throw surfing into the mix!”

CEO of Surfing NSW, Mr Mark Windon supports the development, saying “Surfing NSW fully supports the development of URBNSURF Sydney, and sees this as another positive step for the sport of surfing worldwide and in NSW.”

For Founder and CEO of Wavegarden, Mr Josema Odriozola, URBNSURF Sydney is the realisation of a long-term plan to make surfing more accessible worldwide.

“We are thrilled to be associated with the development of URBNSURF Sydney, and especially in such an iconic Olympic location. With a large existing surfing community and millions of tourists in Sydney each year, I can see this facility becoming a true destination for new and experienced surfers alike.

“We are confident of delivering an outstanding Wavegarden lagoon that will meet the needs and expectations of all who visit.”

A site master plan and preliminary design for URBNSURF Sydney has been completed, and detailed site feasibility studies are now underway. It is anticipated that a development application for the project will be submitted in the later part of 2016.

Once planning approval for the development is received, construction activities can commence, which is hoped to occur by mid-2017. The construction and commissioning of the facility will take the better part of a year to complete, with the aim being for URBNSURF Sydney to open to guests in or around mid-2018.