By Jess Ponting
When I took the mantle as CEO of Surf Park Central earlier this year I spent every day of my first month in the big seat, calling industry partners to ask what were the biggest issues they were facing. Every single call included one common theme. Finance.
While the early rounds of surf park funding for pre-development and approvals have remained in reach, larger capital raises for construction and pre-operational phases have proven a real challenge in the current economic climate. Successful surf park developers and financiers have been bold and creative in bringing new projects over the funding hump and into reality in the post-Covid era of interest rate hikes and CapEx and OpEx blowouts. Surf park openings have not slowed, but they have, to a certain extent, plateaued. This deceleration has impacted every entrepreneur and every business involved in dreaming up and creating surf-anchored real estate developments.
Having received the message from our community, Surf Park Summit 2024 has pulled out all stops to address the issue. We have twice the number of speaking sessions of any previous Summit. We have almost 100 speakers with surf park financing established as a focal point of the entire event. So, what does this look like where the rubber meets the road? For a start, we’ve introduced Surf Park Sharks, a pitch competition for surf parks in development seeking funding. We have assembled a five person panel of investors representing more than $20 billion in assets under management to provide constructive feedback to developers and select a winning pitch and receive $15,000 in benefits from Surf Park Central.
In addition to Surf Park Sharks, SPC has aggressively pursued recreational, lifestyle, and amenitized real estate developers, debt lenders, and equity investors to share innovative approaches that have kept their deals moving in 2024. Meet them, and meet the most comprehensive lineup of finance experts we have ever assembled.
If surf park finance is on your mind this year, I want to share 10 do-not-miss presentations that will feature at Surf Park Summit 2024. Beyond finance, we have more than 100 presenters across three stages and two full days. Check out the full itinerary here. But for now, here are my personal top 10 finance presentations at Surf Park Summit 2024 in order of chronological appearance, there are more.
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