By Jess Ponting
It’s a big week for surf parks.
Today in Southern California, a new surf park development in Newport Beach secured key political approval — and just up the coast, the Orange County Business Journal splashed news of another project breaking ground in El Segundo across its front page. Momentum is building. The surf park industry is officially leveling up.
(Thanks to 1978 World Surfing Champion Peter Townend for sending through the clippings.)
Now in its lucky 13th year, Surf Park Summit is leveling up too. After successful regional events in Arizona and Munich earlier this year, attendance at our global summit is projected to rise 50% over last year’s record-breaking turnout. To meet demand, we’re expanding into a new, oceanfront venue — the Marriott Virginia Beach Oceanfront, just steps from the first Wavegarden Lagoon in the United States. The Summit’s new home features a dramatically larger exhibition hall and networking area with 40+ vendors and partners showcasing the latest in wave tech, filtration, real estate design, construction, and operations.
This year’s program brings more access, insight, and experience than ever before. For the first time, attendees can join a guided tour of the Atlantic Park development to explore the real estate, retail, and hospitality components of a surf park project in progress (RSVP required) — and even book a surf session with fellow Summit participants on November 5.
We’re bringing back crowd favorites like Surf Park Sharks and the annual Surf Park Awards, and reintroducing the highly anticipated wave technology lightning rounds. A major new addition is the closed-door Surf Park Operators Committee Meeting, open exclusively to current surf park operators — with more than 75% of the world’s operating surf parks participating.
This year’s Summit raises the bar with an exceptional lineup of speakers, including real estate visionary Brad Hargreaves and KSWaveCo President Kaniela Neves. The program dives deep into the future of surf park development and operations, featuring:
- Case studies from new surf parks around the world
- A special focus on Atlantic Park, unpacking its development journey from concept to construction
- Nine panel discussions on topics ranging from financing and residential hospitality to retail integration, land use, and construction
- The first-ever industry presentation of surf park safety and incident data, with actionable strategies to reduce risk and improve guest experience
Across three concurrent stages — Development, Operations, and Innovation — the Summit will feature 40+ sessions and 70+ speakers sharing data, lessons, and insights that will define the next phase of the surf park economy.
The surf park industry is entering a new era — from cutting-edge technology and multi-use developments to the capital now flowing into the space. Whether you’re an investor, developer, architect, engineer, or supplier, Surf Park Summit 2025 is where the future of surfanchored real estate is being written. Don’t just read about it — be in the room where it happens.
Join us November 5–7 in Virginia Beach. A few tickets are still available — but not for long.
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