Emerge Surf today named the central English city of Birmingham as the site of their new, giant wave pool.

The £25 million ($30USmillion) facility was revealed today along with artist renderings and a list of ambassadors. South Africa’s big wave legend Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker will be signing on as well as British pros Peony Knight and Luke Dillon. Their roles will be similar to what Occy and Barton Lynch are doing with Surf Lakes in Yeppoon – surfing, sessioning and talking to media.

The planning application is for a 15-acre site, approximately seven miles to the east of Birmingham’s city center at Coleshill. The plan includes the 5.4-acre surf lagoon, powered by Wavegarden’s Cove technology, an outdoor heated swimming pool, a perimeter track for Onewheel self-balancing electric skateboards and a 1,600 sq meter hub building.
 
The park will be named Emerge Surf Birmingham and will house the usual facilities, a surf school, surf shop, café and restaurant, fitness studio, as well as a physio and massage room.

Initial plans, subject to planning approval, show construction commencing late this year with the park opening in spring 2021. Currently, there are several wave pools worldwide sighting on 2021 launch dates. The Wave in Bristol, a mere two hours away, is expected to soft launch this Autumn.

With the closest surf-able ocean waves nearly 100 miles away, this new facility continues the trend of making surfing accessible to the ocean-less masses.

“We are extremely excited about Emerge Surf’s plans for Birmingham,” said Fernando Odriozola, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer of Wavegarden. “As a landlocked city with one of the largest market catchments in the UK, there is a great opportunity to introduce the thrill of surfing perfect waves to a whole new generation of surf enthusiasts.”

The location is situated in North Warwickshire with more than 7.6 million people within a one hour drive of the venue and 27 million potential surfers within two hours. It is also close to Birmingham Airport and Birmingham International Railway Station.
 

“Our vision is to not only provide a world-class surfing experience for surfers of all levels, but also a wide range of complementary activities,” said Steve Price, Founder, and CEO of Emerge Surf. “We are proud to be developing the UK’s most landlocked wave park with the support of our partners, Wavegarden, Surfing England, Surf Life Saving Great Britain, The Wave Project, Future Motion Inc, and Seaholm.”

When The Wave Bristol announced their opening date, Founder Nick Hounsfield made a point to frame the facility as a place of healing and health. Steve Price wants Emerge Surf to do the same thing.
 
“We’re confident that bringing a little slice of the ocean to Birmingham will deliver a positive social impact and boost mental and physical wellbeing. In addition, we’re very keen to work with local schools not only to teach children to surf but also to offer swimming lessons and instruction in water safety.”

Emerge Surf Birmingham is expected to create 100 full-time equivalent jobs, attract around 250,000 visitors a year and deliver an annual economic boost of between £18 million-£21 million to the region.