And the first Kelly Slater artificial wave park goes to... The champ's home state.
The Kelly Slater Wave Co. (KSWC) is planning the opening of its first man-made surf pool in Palm Beach, Florida, just 120 miles away from the founder's hometown of Cocoa Beach.
The Surf Ranch Florida application was filed by a planning and landscape architecture firm. If approved by Palm Beach County, the 80-acre project will be built within the Palm Beach Park of Commerce.
In May 2015, WSL Holdings, the parent company of the World Surf League (WSL), acquired a majority stake in the Kelly Slater Wave Co.
Plans to hold a Championship Tour (CT) contest in an artificial wave pool have not been revealed, but it will only be a matter of time before pro surfers start competing in this type of environment, in which wave conditions are the same for everyone.
Surf Ranch Florida will feature a 13-acre lagoon (2,000 feet long by 185 feet wide) and the perfect barreling waves designed by Kelly Slater and his team of engineers.
The 11-time world champion and businessman unveiled his surf pool concept in December 2015. The prototype facility built in Lemoore, California, was only used by Slater himself and a few friends.
On March 23, the Palm Beach County Commission will hold a hearing to consider a request to amend the county's industrial park regulation to allow the construction of this outdoor recreational facility.