A giant outdoor surf park is looking to open in Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay surfers might not have to travel to the other coast of Florida to catch some decent waves. Plans to bring Peak Surf Park— complete with a half-mile beach, different types of waves, a rock climbing wall and more—to the Bay area are still in the works, with no official location or opening timeline yet.

Renderings show the potential for two skate parks, multiple concession stands, a restaurant, retail shops, a stage for live music, two kiddo pools, a hotel, and poolside bungalows—in addition to the surfing lagoon and half-mile beach surrounding it.

The Tampa Bay Business Journal says the park will span over 30 acres and cost about $70 million dollars to build. And once a location is selected, construction can take at least 2-3 years to complete.

Tony Miller, the man behind Peak Surf Park, was CEO and partner at Spark advertising agency for roughly 10 years before he switched gears and purchased a license for the Australia-based Surf Lakes’ technology— the leading innovators of the faux wave game.

Miller tells Creative Loafing that you won’t have to be an experienced surfer to enjoy the up-and-coming adventure park. “People might think this is just for hardcore surfers. The hardcores will have incredible waves, but so will our first timers,” Miller says in an email. “Compare it to a snow park… there will be green, blue and black runs (waves) for any skill type to have fun and progress their abilities.”

Miller also says entrance fee into the park won’t break the bank, and the cost of surfing itself will be an hourly fee. “We are also exploring memberships and will announce those opportunities as we get closer to the opening,” he states.

For the latest information on Peak Surf Park, head to peaksurfpark.com and sign up for the email list.

And since the Peak Surf Park team is still scouting out different locations in both Pinellas and Hillsborough county, only time will tell which side of the bridge gets Tampa Bay’s gnarliest addition.

This article appears in Jan 13-19, 2022.