If plans come to fruition, surfers, young and old, skilled and untrained, will be able to experience up to 2.0-metre high waves at the rate of 1000 per hour by summer 2019/20
URBN Surf (Sydney) Pty Ltd has received DA approval from the Department of Planning & Environment for a $24 million “open water surf sports lagoon” on a3.2-hectare site close to the ANZ stadium,
“Forget about Bondi or Manly, you can come straight here to Sydney Olympic Park and get the best waves you’ll find anywhere,” boasted NSW Sports Minister, Stuart Ayers, of the lagoon which will accommodate up to 80 riders at a time.
The venue has been designed by MJA Studio for the Wave Park Group which will use Spanish Wavegarden technology to generate artificial waves; both companies are based in Western Australia.
“With surfing now confirmed as an Olympic sport for the 2020 Tokyo Games, URBNSURF Sydney at Sydney Olympic Park is uniquely positioned to assist the Australian surfing team train and prepare for their upcoming campaign,” said Andrew Ross, executive chairman and founder of URBNSURF.
He said the project’s plans were to break ground on the site by late-2018, with riders expected to take to the first waves by summer 2019/20.
“We anticipate the development will generate over 300 jobs during the construction phase, and another 50 full time positions will be created once the facility opens its doors.”
Mr Ross said the surf park was expected to inject more than $250M in gross economic contribution to Western Sydney over the life of the project.
Amenities at the venue would include a retail shop, café, indoor restaurant and alfresco bar, along with change rooms, a first aid and lifeguard rooms along with a two-storey surf academy with teaching and training facilities.
“It's an innovative proposal, offering the chance to have world class surfing at Sydney Olympic Park in Homebush,” said Anthea Sargeant, executive director, of key sites and industry assessments, in the Department of Planning & Environment
