Wavegarden, a leading manufacturer of artificial wave-generating systems, has announced that its third and largest Wavegarden Cove in the UK will be located in Birmingham, and is expected to open in late 2025.
Stoneweg InfraSport, a collaboration between Stoneweg and Teras Capital focused on creating artificial urban surfing locations in Europe, will invest £50m to create the attraction. This comes after a group of investors collaborated to build a Wavegarden surf park in Madrid, Spain.
Josema Odriozola, CEO of Wavegarden, comments: “Stoneweg InfraSport shares our vision of creating destinations with great waves and idyllic beaches, bringing surfing to landlocked cities like Madrid and Birmingham and making the sport accessible to everyone. They will be a great asset for the community.”
International benchmark
Birmingham has the second highest population of any city in the UK, with eight million residents. 1.4 million of which are at school, college, and university.
The new surf park will be strategically located within an hour of Birmingham and will be accessible by both road and train. Its centerpiece is a 5.4-acre Wavegarden Cove surfing lagoon. This is accompanied by a sandy beach and an extensive range of facilities including a surf school, equipment hire, and a surf shop.
It will also offer dining areas with coworking spaces, and additional leisure activities such as hot tubs, a play area, and a pump track. The attraction is set to welcome over 200,000 visitors a year.
Miguel de Lucas, managing partner at Teras Capital, says: “This new surf park in Birmingham represents our commitment to fuse sport and leisure, offering an innovative experience. This project will not only provide access to urban surfing for millions of people, but will also become an international benchmark in terms of the facilities and entertainment offering for visitors.”
Wavegarden Cove technology can generate 1,000 waves each hour with the widest wave menu available at over 20 waves of customizable sizes and shapes. In addition, this is the most sustainable technology of its kind. The park will employ cutting-edge sustainable design and construction practices including a wave generator that recovers and reuses energy, reducing energy loss during transmission from machinery to water.
Jaume Sabater, CEO of Stoneweg, shares: “This project will see Stoneweg combine its real estate expertise and commitment to social impact through the delivery of a ground-breaking new development that brings one of the world’s most popular sports to the UK’s second-largest metropolitan area.
“We are also excited to have closed our first investment in the UK, one of Europe’s key real estate markets and one which has witnessed a strong post-COVID bounce back in demand for leisure activity.”
Stoneweg InfraSport is presently conducting feasibility studies for a wave park in Malaga, Spain, which would be the firm’s third wave park development. This draws on Stoneweg’s extensive operational real estate experience and dedication to developing iconic leisure destinations that benefit both local communities and individuals.Â
Earlier this year, Wavegarden shared details of its innovative surf lagoon waterproofing product, Liner Solution. This has been created to meet the challenges of waterproofing a lagoon with waves, which demands a different approach to waterproofing a motionless body of water. Liner Solution uses groundbreaking technology which can withstand the intense forces created by a surf lagoon’s waves.
