Imagine a surfer in Paris. La Vague Grand Paris is a large boardsports park. It includes two wave pools. The park is located in Sevran, a suburb of Paris. Baptiste Caulonque is the creative mind behind La Vague.
La Vague Grand Paris plans to bring surfing and other boardsports together. Concept images show a large outdoor Wavegarden Cove wave pool. American Wave Machines PerfectSwell technology is also considered. The indoor wave pool tech plan is unclear. But there are indications it will use standing wave technology like Citywave.
La Vague Grand Paris wave pool will produce various wave sizes and shapes. These waves are suitable for beginners and professionals. Not much is known about the indoor pool waves. But La Vague Grand Paris images indicate a softer rolling standing wave.
Baptiste and his team planned to start construction before June 2020. The team hopes to open La Vague Grand Paris in the Summer of 2023. This is if everything goes according to plan.
The indoor pool will be open all year. The outdoor pool will close during colder months. La Vague Grand Paris expects 150000 surfing guests. They expect a total of 500000 visitors per year.
La Vague Grand Paris covers 15 hectares or 37 acres. The plan includes a 100-room hotel plus a skate park. A climbing facility and music venue will also be included. There will also be retail and restaurant space. Some facilities will be free to the public. The skate park and basketball courts are examples. The wave pools and others require an admission fee.
The French government supports La Vague Grand Paris. They hope the project injects economic and social strength into Sevran. Sevran and the 93 area are famous for producing great athletes. This includes half of the French national soccer team in 2019. Supporters hope the project will produce talented surfers too. La Vague Grand Paris also has support from the French Surfing Federation. The facility will host a local surf club.
La Vague Grand Paris or The Greater Paris Wave is part of a new neighborhood. This neighborhood in Sevran is called Terre D’eaux or Water Land.
The wave pool idea in Sevran first circulated in 2016. Linkcity, a real estate development company, proposed a plan for La Vague Grand Paris. This plan was presented to Sevran City Hall. Linkcity thought a board sports park was the best strategy. Sevran has a huge youth population and a history of athletes.
In 2017 Linkcity brought in Baptiste Caulonque. He has years of surf industry experience. Together they built the La Vague Grand Paris program. They presented the program to Sevran City Hall. They won the project. Baptiste said the main reason for winning is the various sports it will make available. This includes the public and local schools. The innovative plan to use rainwater to fill the pools was also a key factor.
In March 2019 Sevran submitted a bid to host Olympic Surfing in the 2024 game. But Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet clarified a wave pool would not host the event. He said they would not use an artificial wave for the surfing event. Now you know more about La Vague. It is an ambitious project bringing a surfing lifestyle to Paris.