Wavepool in the Desert!

Here at Extremehorizon HQ we read this story with interest, not just because a surfable wave pool is being built in the desert! but its a sign of a whole new direction being taken in the leisure and tourism market. Its seems as though most of the worlds population has embraced the beach lifestyle (even if some of them have never seen the ocean) and surfing is becoming more mainstream every year. So if the people can't visit the beach and learn to surf, bring the beach to them. I've a feeling that these wavepools are going to pop up all over the place, with kids learning to surf without ever dipping a toe in salt water. These pools will also open up new opportunies to stage surf competitions, with audiences close to the action as the pools can guarentee wave height, swell direction and no wind on any or every day of the year. I would'nt be surprised if surfing wave pools wont feature in the Olympics some day. A wavepool isnt a bad thing and it will add a new dimension to surfing, but an indoor pool full of chlorine with mechanical waves will always be souless and is never going to replace the raw energy, unpredicatability and power of the ocean and nature.

Story: Mesa Arizona, USA to receive new Waveyard water complex

Waveyard is slated to become a first-of-its-kind tourist destination, featuring the largest surfing wave pool in the U.S., a multi-channel white water rafting and kayaking course, scuba diving and snorkeling lagoon, wakeboarding park, massive sand beach, and a resort hotel with an indoor water park.

Waveyard will occupy 121-acres on the Southeast corner of the Loops 101 & 202 interchange in Mesa. Waveyard will be in close proximity to the Mesa Riverview retail development, Phoenix's Sky Harbor airport and Arizona State University (ASU). The resort will generate an estimated $5 million in annual revenue for the City of Mesa and create more than 7,000 permanent jobs.

Through the practice of environmentally conscious thinking and the use of eco-friendly technologies during construction, Waveyard developers have ensured that the resort will conserve as much water as possible.

In fact, the annual estimated water usage at Waveyard will be directly on par with an 18-hole golf course. Waveyard will require a one-time fill between 30 and 50 million gallons. Daily use, evaporation and the splash effect will require between 60 and 100 million gallons each year. In comparison, a typical 18-hole golf course uses 144 million gallons per year.