When a surf park proposal collapses late in the approval process, as we saw in California’s Coral Mountain project and Boca Raton Surf Park, most observers point to politics, NIMBY pressure, or planning complexities. But having spent more than 25 years in public relations, working on highly scrutinized development projects and legislative campaigns across multiple industries, I can tell you that most of these “last-minute surprises” are neither surprises nor inevitable. They are communication failures and entirely preventable.
Surf parks are unlike any traditional development project because they impact land use, water, traffic, economic development, tourism, community identity, and increasingly, health and wellness initiatives. They bring out passionate supporters and vocal opponents. Yet very few surf park proposals integrate public relations early enough, or strategically enough, to build the public understanding, advocacy, and grassroots momentum needed to carry a project through city councils, planning commissions, and county boards.
The result: projects that could have possibly been approved with smart community engagement never make it out of “the barrel.”
Why PR Must Be Embedded at Inception
According to Jess Ponting, CEO of Surf Park Summit, 10 additional surf parks are expected to be completed by the end of 2026 and the WavePoolMag Map confirms as much. At that point, the industry will have grown 250% in just three years, and we are all going to have to help guide wave pools into the future.
That kind of growth invites attention and scrutiny. As more projects enter local review pipelines, elected officials of all ages are becoming increasingly influenced by vocal constituents. And those constituents often lean on assumptions: that surf parks mean traffic, noise, water resources, overdevelopment, or disruption. Very rarely do they understand the community, economic, and health benefits these facilities generate.
Developers typically bring in PR firms at the end, when opposition is already mobilized, misinformation has spread online, or elected officials begin wavering. By that point, you’re playing defense.
Public relations must begin before the first permit is filed, because that’s when perceptions begin forming and narratives take root. Early communication gives you time to:
- Build credibility with local leaders, staff, and planning officials
- Establish trusted relationships with neighbors and civic groups
- Correct misconceptions around water use, noise, traffic, and environmental impact
- Highlight economic development potential, job creation, and tourism benefits
- Create grassroots and “grasstops” coalitions that demonstrate broad support
- Mobilize advocates and influencers to show up, confident and prepared, at key hearings
- Engage architects, engineers, funders, and construction leads who can publicly validate a project’s safety and value
The surf park industry is entering a new maturity phase. Municipal stakeholders are more aware than ever of the public debate surrounding wave pools. A quick Google search identifies just a few of these projects that didn’t make it past a vote: Coral Mountain, Sunshine Coast, Mission Viejo, Charlotte and others. If the industry wants fewer derailed projects and more Rotterdam, Atlantic Park, and Lost Shores, then PR cannot be an afterthought.
What Advocacy Looks Like in Today’s Climate
Public relations and legislative strategy now go hand in hand. I’ve helped developers, associations, and companies both pass and stop legislation, and these same actions can translate directly to surf parks:
- Community listening sessions and town halls that build trust early
- Supporter identification and mobilization (grassroots and grasstops)
- Targeted digital campaigns to reach specific neighborhoods, supporters and influencers
- Local economic impact storytelling backed by data from other parks and Surf Park Central
- Influencer and ambassador engagement to humanize the project
- Rapid-response communications to counter misinformation online
- Veteran, disability, and mental-health programming storytelling, which resonates more deeply than the public realizes
As a volunteer member of Surf Park Central’s Accessibility Committee, I’ve seen how parks are incorporating ADA-informed best practices, adaptive surfing principles, and inclusive programming. These are not side benefits; they are core community assets. And when surf parks demonstrate value for veterans with PTSD, people with disabilities, and adaptive athletes, the public conversation shifts dramatically.
A Personal Perspective
I’ve surfed my entire life, from visiting family in SoCal, to living in North Carolina, South Carolina and now Virginia, where our PR, government affairs and digital marketing agency is headquartered. Watching Atlantic Park Surf come to life has shown how early education, transparency, and community engagement can turn skepticism into anticipation.
It’s a model for what coordinated advocacy can accomplish. And, as a person who has already surfed it multiple times since its August opening, I can vouch that the waves are good, the facility is incredible and the people are amazing. It was well worth the effort.
What’s Next: The Industry Needs a New Standard
We know that more surf parks are entering the pipeline, nationally and globally, and the stakes are higher. Cities are paying closer attention. Opponents are more organized. Approval processes are more complex.
To navigate this landscape, surf park developers need strategic partners who understand public opinion, opposition pressure, and crisis communications. My agency has handled everything from brand reputation challenges to embezzlement crises to operational tragedies. More importantly, we’ve helped multiple developers secure approval for complex, controversial projects through structured advocacy campaigns.
Surf parks deserve the same level of sophistication because the future of this industry won’t be determined by who engineers the best wave; it will be determined by who earns the trust of the communities they hope to join.
Brian Chandler is the founder and CEO of Commonwealth Public Relations and Digital Marketing, a full-service public relations firm based in Virginia. He can be reached at brian@commonwealth-pr.com or 804-510-0039.
