URBNSURF Sydney opens in Sydney Olympic Park Precinct

URBNSURF Sydney, located in the Sydney Olympic Park Precinct, officially opened to the public on 13th May and with an investment in excess of $75 million, the surf park not only aims to deliver "perfect ocean like waves" to the city but is poised to make a substantial impact on the local economy.

URBNSURF Sydney is the second surf park development for the URBNSURF group with URBNSURF Melbourne having opened in January 2020.

URBNSURF Sydney spans a vast 3.6-hectare site, with the lagoon similar in size to the Sydney cricket ground, designed to accommodate over 1,000 daily visitors, seven days a week. The park also features a Surf Academy, a leisure swimming pool, a skate pad, a Rip Curl retail store, a health and wellness centre and two food offerings by Applejack, RAFI URBNSURF and Sandy’s.

Recognising the Sydney surf culture, the park offers an inclusive way to experience the sport of surfing from expert to beginner wave settings and everything in between. The world-class Wavegarden technology ensures members, guests and those trying surfing for the first time will be able to experience perfect waves all year-round with a one-hour session providing up to 12 perfect waves for each guest.

There are nine wave types, ranging from perfect first-time surfer beginner waves to “heart-in-your-mouth barrels.”

Foodies can also rejoice, with URBNSURF’s partnership with Applejack offering a “hospitality experience like no other”. Guests can also enjoy Sandy’s, the park’s casual surfside eatery; later experiencing premium dining at RAFI, set to open in winter.

Rip Curl is URBNSURF Sydney’s exclusive retail partner, ensuring guests have unparalleled access to leading apparel and technical equipment, seamlessly integrating 50 years of product development into the customer experience. This partnership continues URBNSURF’s long-standing alignment with Rip Curl, with the two surfing power houses partnering since URBNSURF Melbourne opened in 2020.

On the official opening, Damon Tudor, Chief Executive URBNSURF enthused “It’s a huge moment for the URBNSURF team, our shareholders and our strategic partners who have been involved in helping us bring our dream for URBNSURF Sydney to fruition. Finally seeing the gates open and the wave machine pumping is a feeling like no other.

“Just like Melbourne, URBNSURF Sydney offers the perfect surfing conditions that cater for high performance athletes and advanced surfers through to people trying surfing for the first time. We’re extremely proud to be celebrating this achievement and we are stoked to see our customers ripping it up in the lagoon.

“URBNSURF is much more than a surf park and one of the benefits born out of Melbourne is the strong sense of community guests feel when walking through the doors, creating a sense of culture is deep rooted in our core values and we’re excited to start to build our Sydney community.”

Chair of Surfing Australia and seven-time surfing world champion, Layne Beachley, is on the board of directors for URBNSURF and participated in raising funds for URBNSURF Sydney. Beachley shared “I am stoked to see URBNSURF Sydney open and to introduce the wonderful world of surfing to more surfers and aspiring ones, of all ages and backgrounds. Surfing brings so much joy and URBNSURF provides a safe and controlled environment for those learning the sport.”

The NSW Office of Sport provided $1 million to URBNSURF Sydney through the Greater Cities Sport Facility Fund towards the development of the $2.2 million URBNSURF Surfing Centre of Excellence.

Office of Sport Chief Executive Karen Jones said the Surfing Centre of Excellence will provide a world-class high performance centre that will enable surf athletes to combine both in water and out of water elements of training and preparation.

“We are delighted to have supported such an exciting development and are looking forward to providing Australian athletes with a significant competitive advantage in future Olympic campaigns, international WSL Championship Tour and Challenger Series events and tournaments,” Jones said.

Over the next two decades, URBNSURF Sydney is projected to contribute a net economic benefit of $250 million to the Sydney Olympic Park area, solidifying its position as a key player in the region's recreational landscape. The long-awaited sister park of URBNSURF Melbourne means Australia is the only country in the world to offer two man-made surf parks – a fitting claim to fame for a country with a long association with surfing and home to some of the best surfers in the world.

Sydney Olympic Park Authority Chief Executive, Carla Armanet added “the opening of URBNSURF Sydney will have an immense impact on the local community and their experiences at Sydney Olympic Park. A first for NSW, and an exciting addition to our active recreation and sports facilities, the wave park is bringing the best of surf culture, education and great waves to the West.

“Located amongst the Park’s thrill seeking attractions, including the Monster BMX track and proposed Haslams Pump Track - URBNSURF is set to be extraordinary.”

To further solidify URBNSURF’s commitment to safe, controlled, and accessible surfing, the park has joined forces with Surfing New South Wales to foster growth and innovation in the surfing community and shape the future of surfing. The partnership is set to provide unprecedented opportunities for skill development and provide safety initiatives to continue to educate and empower the surfing community.

For information on membership, pricing and products go to URBNSURF Sydney