The following post was submitted by our friend, Aaron Shafer, who was a leader for Memphis first skate park adjacent to Tobey Park:
By Aaron Shafer
The City Memphis is moving forward in redeveloping the Fairgrounds within the next couple of years. If all goes as planned, they will submit an application with a redevelopment proposal to the state near the end of this year.
So what should we build on the Fairgrounds? What is a win-win for everybody? Marvin Stockwell refers to this as the “sweet spot” which he defined through gathering public input at meetings that he hosted through his Friends of the Fairgrounds organization. In Mr. Stockwell’s words that sweet spot is “where the tourism demands of the TDZ sync up with the desires of the stakeholders, especially the neighborhood residents.” You can listen to him talk about that process here.
Basically the “sweet spot” was distilled into the following criteria: it welcomes the neighborhoods back to the fairgrounds, provides local jobs to the youth, is a safe fun place to be and brings in tourists from around the greater area.
I would add one other criterion: it keeps us all from having heat stroke in the summer. Let’s face it, Memphis is smokin’ hot in the summer! Mix in some humidity and everything you enjoyed doing in the spring and fall months is no longer doable without risking death. How about building a water venue mixed in with a state of the art surf park? Such a facility would meet the criteria of a sweet spot AND fill a recreational void.
I’ll explain that “void” concept.
Upon moving from the Bay Area to Memphis back in the summer of 2006, one of the thoughts that crossed my mind was where was the nearest water park?
Photo obtained from Historic Memphis Fairgrounds.
I did some research and as it turns out Memphis used to have numerous water-based recreational activities. Memphis actually had a gigantic municipal pool located on the Fairgrounds, complete with a sandy beach on the perimeter (see the photo at the top). The pool operated from 1921-1947. Maywood was the Memphis “beach within reach” which had beaches built with sand imported from the gulf as well a large lake filled with clear cool spring-fed water. Maywood operated for 72 years before closing in 2003. You can learn all about Maywood in this episode of Memphis Type History. Overlapping with Maywood was Adventure river water park that was open from 1985-1997. Bud Boogie Beach was another venue on Mud Island where the “gulf of Mexico” was turned into a make-shift pool and beach area. It closed in 1997.
Which brings us to the present: where do people go now to cool off around here now? The picture below shows where they go (WP is shorthand for water park). They go everywhere but Memphis to beat the heat!
The Memphian outmigration is a result of the void created by the closing of all those different water-based venues. When the nearest large water venue is over 150+ miles away, you have a recreational void. This void is especially acute for Memphians who don’t have the time or money to take frequent out of town trips to cool off and recreate.
What would a modern water park look like? The park I envision would have a swimming area, areas to lazily float around, wading areas and an anchor center attraction that would draw both the locals and tourists to the facility. The center attraction would be a surf park. The surf park is not the same as a traditional wave pool that you’ll find in a standard water park. The surf park uses a wave-generating technology that was developed within the past 10 years. The first surf park was scaled up in 2014 and opened to the public in 2015. In 2017, the technology was revamped, increasing the wave output from 100 to 1000 waves per hour! The wave size is scalable (adjustable by the software) so you can generate waves for kids to play in with their boogie boards or ratchet up the wave size for intermediate or advanced users.
Take a look here to see the 2017 version of the surf park in action.
Essentially, you now have access to be able to surf on waves that are found at some of the best surfing locations around the globe. You provide new access to a thrilling activity that has been geographically limited to the coastlines.
Currently, only one surf park exists in the United States, it opened in Austin, TX in 2016.
Ok, but Memphians don’t surf. Not yet. BUT, we all get hot and given the opportunity most of us would give it try. Imagine not having to drive hundreds of miles to go to the beach.
At one point in history Southern Californians didn’t surf, however the growth of surfing in Southern California exploded once people had access to the activity. As a former southern California surfer, I can testify that the life-long thrill of surfing has fueled and sustained overcrowding of surfing areas with surfers. Surfing is a healthy addictive activity and we need more healthy positive activities here in Memphis, both for our youth and everyone. Memphis would become a magnet for a venue that no other cities (including Nashville!) have in the Midsouth, providing a much needed “cool place” for Memphians to stay cool. A place where the nearby residents would be welcomed back to the Fairgrounds, a place where families and kids can learn to swim and surf and a place for summer jobs. Sounds like a sweet spot to me!
If you’re inspired (and want to cool off) then let’s make this happen!
See the below information:
As of summer 2017, the Fairgrounds are in the midst of a public input process, you can check on the meeting dates coming up here. If you would like to participate in that process, you can submit a comment online here. You can also join Let’s Surf Memphis ! Facebook group for updates on progress.
Yes!
I think this is an excellent idea. It does not need to be run by the City, I don’t think. Is there an investor/operator that would want to do this?
I hate to think of the types of youth who might patronize such a venue. It won’t be a tranquil summer scene for sure. Cannot be run by the city or it will fail like Mud Island.
OMG YES!!!!
We NEED this!
This is a great idea. We don’t need a water park, but this is something different altogether. There are only a few of these around the world and they are really successful.
Why can’t we do something cool ahead of everyone else for a change?
This is a needed addition to the City! I agree with others that it should be managed by a private company with a good record. That should have been done with Libertyland.
Another great and innovative idea from Aaron! So glad you moved to our city and jumped in to make it an even better place to live, Aaron. LOVE this idea.
I LOVE the idea of a water park there!
Aaron – so what do you need us to do?
Hey Mark, for now you can go online and fill out one of the City’s “comment cards” and let the City know that you think this would be good use at the Fairgrounds as well as attend one of the public meetings coming up. I posted the links for the comment card and meeting dates at the bottom of the post. That would be a big help.
Thanks everyone for your enthusiastic responses! Looks like we could all enjoy a respite from the heat.
Hate to rain on the excitement but this is a proposal that will simply never happen. Certainly not in a town like Memphis. First of all it will never be a profitable business since it would largely be seasonal, expensive to build requiring a steep admission price most people here can’t afford. The insurance liability costs alone would be highly prohibitive. Not many jobs would be created and those they did would be typical low wage and seasonal. Something like this might work in California or Florida, but it’s just a pipe dream in today’s Memphis. Best idea is to just make the Fairgrounds a standard city park.
The worst idea is to make Fairgrounds a “standard city park.” City parks are already underfunded and you can walk to the city’s marquee park from the Fairgrounds. It seems to us that it’s worth getting the feasibility done to actually get some facts instead of opinions. So often, in Memphis, we throw up reasons something can’t be done, only to see other cities do it and then we play catch-up.
For once, Memphis cculd be the best practice.
Thanks, Aaron. I’m on it and asking my friends to do the same.
While this sounds cool I just can’t see it working in Memphis. A private company would quickly suffer huge financial losses. We don’t want another failure like Mud Island.
If a private company invested in it, that company would have done the due diligence, so it would only get involved if its market study shows a profit. It’s a big difference from a public project like Mud Island.
In Memphis we always play catch up.
Sadly we are a city that only falls further and further behind.
I had read / heard that a nationally branded waterpak product (Schiliterbaun sp?) was destined for the I-269 – US 72 zone, in Fayette County, just outside of Collierville. Regional draw, easily accessed from near and far, safe-secure area, in a growth quad, etc., etc…maybe the Fairgrounds should shoot (pardon the pun) for a TopGolf?
Howard: That would be great to have both a traditional water park and surf park as options! The two could coexist given how different a surf park is to a traditional water park. Topgolf would be fun until the heat index soared, then I’m looking for some water.
By the way, one of my colleagues worked at Schlitterbahn water park in Texas when he was in high school He said the park is amazing!
A TopGolf is nearing completion near downtown Nashville. The company is also expanding in several other cities. If they’ve looked at Memphis the Fairgrounds would be a logical central location. But when charging $25-55 per golf bay the suburbs might be a better choice.
Brilliant and as a former head lifeguard of a Memphis City pool, I say AMEN!
I think it is an exciting idea and one that Memphians and tourists would easily buy into. I do agree that a privately run park is the best way to go with the caveat that the City does not end up giving away the bank in upfront funding ( as we are apt to do as a matter of course) and use the TDZ to its fullest. Be great for exhibition matches bringing in top surfers from the east and west coasts.