$200 Million Wave Pool Coming To Texas

Originally posted on SURFER | By Jake Howard | Last updated Dec 13, 2024 12:11 PM ET

Pretty soon Waco's not going to be the only wave pool game in Texas. A new surf park has been announced for the city of McKinny in North Texas. Coming in with a price tag of over $200 million, the development, which is already being dubbed the "gateway into North Texas," is being taken on by the same team that's currently putting the finishing touches on Revel Surf, their wave pool project in Mesa, Arizona. Most notably on the team is former world title contender Shane Beschen.

The development, which is being called Cannon Beach, will feature a four-acre wave pool, along with a resort-style hotel, other entertainment venues, restaurants and office space. It is expected to generate as many as 700 local jobs and attract as many as 300,000 visitors annually. Construction is set to begin next year with an open date projected sometime in 2026.

"Over the next 20 years, the development is projected to generate more than $2 billion in economic impact, according to the city's analysis," reports a local Texas news outlet.

"In addition to the tourism component of this project, Cannon Beach … [is] positioning itself as a hub for top talent and innovation, from global corporations to ambitious startups,” McKinney Mayor George Fuller said in a statement.

If the Revel Surf facility in Arizona is anything to go off of, the stoke factor is going to be pretty high in Texas. Beschen and his crew, including an all-star list of top pros, have been busy testing waves and dialing in the technology. Jacob "Zeke" Szekely dropped an edit from the park this week, and in his words, it's "insane."

In 2018, BSR Surf Resort opened in Waco, Texas, and really opened the eyes of the world up to the possibilities of what wave pools in the Lone Star state can do. Then came the NLand surf park, which opened in Austin, but it was a short lived endeavor. There have been rumors that the Kelly Slater Wave Co. were going to take over the location and build something similar to what's in Lemoore and Abu Dhabi, but to date, the BSR Surf Resort is still the only game in Texas.

This article first appeared on SURFER and was syndicated with permission.

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