It’s been a big few days on the Sunshine Coast, with the World Surf League announcing the first Kelly Slater Surf Ranch outside of the United States, will be built on the Sunshine Coast. Not the Gold Coast, not Sydney, but our very own patch of paradise.
Plans to create a mammoth wave pool in Coolum Beach, just off the motorway, is said to be costing a whopping $100 million, and will see Slater’s impressive wave technology deliver one of the largest, high-performance man-made waves in the southern hemisphere. And, if it’s like the current surf ranch in California, the wave will be 100 per cent solar-powered—cue jaw drop.
Along with the much-coveted repeatable wave, and the perfect barrels it will bring, the new sporting development will also include an eco-lodge and training and event facilities—so we’re expecting to see hordes of pros hanging around the Sunshine Coast very soon.
World Surf League General Manager Andrew Stark told Australian Leisure Management magazine that a major issue with their US location, was that they could only use the pool six months of the year, due to rapid temperature drops in winter. Hence the search for a new location began.
“We picked the Sunshine Coast because of the temperatures year-round and the DNA of the area,” he said. “We love that [it’s] very environmentally conscious, that’s what we are, and it fits with the Surf Ranch philosophy.”
There’s no mention if the pool will be open to the public at this stage, but we’re crossing our fingers that it will be. We’ll keep you in the loop with more information as it drops.
But for now, feast your eyes on this.