Capitalizing on the increasing numbers of adventure sports enthusiasts, Waveyard Development, LLC plans to develop the first outdoor super park adventure and resort destination. Waveyard Development is currently in negotiations for a 200 plus acre site located just outside the Phoenix, Arizona metro area-the fifth largest city in the United States. Waveyard will be an unprecedented residential, resort, retail and entertainment experience that delivers the adventure sports lifestyle to both the residents of Arizona and the nations outdoor enthusiasts. The Waveyard is expected to break ground in 2007.
The $250 million outdoor super park features visionary designs and technologies that deliver a diverse range of experiences including surfing, rafting, kayaking, climbing, scuba diving, snorkeling, skateboarding, mountain biking, fly fishing, canoeing, volleyball and boogie boarding. In addition, Waveyard will be home to a 320 room resort hotel, 150 resort villas, a 30,000 square foot conference center, a spa and wellness center, a massive sand beach, numerous restaurants, a 55,000 square foot indoor water park, 150,000 square feet of sports and entertainment retail, 30,000 square feet of office space, an amphitheater and numerous residential communities.
Waveyard also plans to open a new chapter on urban design. By incorporating residential, retail and office space into the master plan, Waveyard aims to become the nations first live, work and play surfing and adventure sports community. Wendell Pickett, Managing Partner of Greey-Pickett Landscape Architects, is leading the integration of Waveyards recreation and residential components. “Homebuilders are looking for the next growth driver in order to keep their pipelines full. In a market of rising interest rates and declining demand, they need to remain competitive and add value to their product. The opportunity to surf, raft, snorkel, kayak and still be home by dinner is unprecedented in an urban environment,” states Pickett.
Waveyard Development, LLC was established in 2003 by veteran development and financial partners, Richard Mladick and Jerry Hug. The company is an innovative recreational and commercial development group, conceived for the purpose of the national development of the Waveyard concept. Richard Mladick, an avid surfer from the age of ten, has surfed around the world and in 1995, founded Mladick Development Inc., a design, construction and development company. Jerry Hug was former Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development at Wireless Retail, Inc. (WRI). In 2004, WRI was one of the fifty fastest growing privately owned companies in the United States, cornering client revenue exceeding $400 million with over 5,500 employees in 48 states.
“Economically Phoenix is the greatest city on the planet. There is opportunity everywhere,” states Hug. “But from a recreational standpoint, if you dont golf, its a hot, dry desert.” Adds Mladick, “The desert can be especially tough on people who have moved here from places like California. I was in the ocean practically every morning. My life revolved around the beach, swells and the tides. Here its all business and there is very little balance. Waveyard will change that.”
Matt Salmon, former United States Congressman and the Director of the Governmental Affairs for Greenberg Traurig, LLP, is focusing on educating key community and business leaders about this exciting project on behalf of Waveyard. Salmon states, “Waveyard will be a remarkable enhancement to the state. The water themed features are perfect for Arizonas climate and for years, Arizona has been focused on developing a regional strategy to draw visitors from California and Nevada.” Salmon continues, “Waveyard delivers a range of experiences that people will travel here for. In addition, Waveyards attractions open up the opportunity for the state to host world-class sporting events and competitions that we never dreamed we could attract.”
Phoenix has always had a radically under-served recreational market. Rawhide, an old western town, was the #2 tourist attraction in the state for years and currently, Arizona is the only major metropolitan market without a theme park. This has always been attributed to the engineering challenges associated with the extreme temperature swings and Waveyard is the logical approach to conquering these challenges in Arizona.
By catering to the nearly 39 million enthusiasts who participated in outdoor sports last year (according to the Outdoor Industry Association), Waveyards first year attendance is projected to be in excess of one million people. It is a pioneer adventure, lifestyle destination that is expected to become the second most visited tourist attraction in the state of Arizona, behind only the Grand Canyon. Waveyard will also help to introduce future enthusiasts to these sports through a comprehensive instructional and training program.
Waveyards design concept will feature attractions that speak to extreme adventure enthusiasts who are interested in experiencing some of the most versatile terrain and waves found in the desert southwest. Waveyards surfing pool will be the largest, most revolutionary wave pool constructed in the United States featuring over 150,000 square feet of water surface. The pools unique design and technology will be capable of delivering waves up to 12 feet in height but will provide wave configurations suitable for all riders. This wave pool will be unlike anything participants have previously been exposed to on cruise ships or integrated tourist attractions.
The wave pool design stems from a collaboration with numerous creative engineers including Douglas Murphy, founder of Murphys Waves in Edinburgh, Scotland. Murphys Waves is one of the leading authorities on artificial wave generation and currently has the worlds second largest wave pool under construction in Tenerife, Canary Islands. Waveyard Development, LLC holds exclusive rights in the United States and Canada for a series of technologies that will be used in the main surfing pool. Additionally, a beginners pool featuring padded side walls and gentle 3-4 foot waves generated every 10-12 seconds will provide entertainment for beginners.
Another primary attraction in the Waveyard will be the worlds largest, multi-channel, self circulating white water river. Waveyard has commissioned the team that designed, engineered and managed the development for the United States National Whitewater Center (USNWC) in Charlotte, NC, to execute a state-of-the-art facility featuring an upper start pool, three primary white water channels, a gentler beginners river, a lower finishing pool and an incline conveyor belt system to return people to the top of the course. The course will be a convenient destination to experience world-class rafting and kayaking without committing to the time and expense of traveling to the back country. The 2005 Outdoor Industry Association study notes that kayaking has been the fastest growing outdoor sport over the last three years.
Scott Shipley, a member of the USNWC and three-time Olympian who is leading the white water design team remarks, “Paddlers will travel great distances to experience white water of this caliber. The course is being designed as a training facility for Olympic teams, a world-class freestyle kayaking venue as well as a family and corporate rafting destination. It will be a truly unique venue that marries outstanding white water with a resort, an adventure, outdoor lifestyle, a training center, a beach and a creative retail experience.”
Other key features of the Waveyard include a skatepark, a diving and snorkeling lagoon lined with fiber optic lights for night dives, a climbing center and ropes course, a series of fly fishing ponds, a mountain bike course and an outdoor amphitheater.
The plans also contain a massive entertainment retail center focused on outdoor sporting goods and interactive retail experiences. It will be the first retail experience specifically intended to blur the line between participation, training and purchasing. Participants will be permitted to test equipment, speak with industry experts, watch demonstrations and make educated purchases from the latest surfing, white water and adventure sports gear.
A final aspect of the Waveyard will be the lodging component -a full-service resort containing 320 high-end suites, a conference center, spa and indoor water park. From surfers and body boarders looking for the thrill of riding consistent waves, to the adventure enthusiast who longs to extend their adrenaline rush amidst all of their favorite activities, Waveyard is positioned to revolutionize the action and adventure sports industries.
