Will Wave Pools Turn Surfing Into the Next Golf?
In January, as the 2025 World Surf League Championship Tour kicked off on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii, Brazilian Italo Ferreira waited for what felt like an eternity to ride a single wave. After a two-day weather delay, the area's signature big barrels remained elusive, forcing surfers to compete in subpar conditions. A few weeks later, Ferreira, the sport's first Olympic gold medalist, paddled into lake-flat water at the tour's second stop, but here the waves turned on in seconds with the press of a button. His decisive victory and dizzying aerials were stunning, but so was the setting: under stadium lights in the desert of Abu Dhabi.
With technology that cost some $90 million to install, this 80 million-gallon surfing oasis—the most advanced wave pool in the Middle East—unleashes consistent, customizable waves that unfurl for 500 meters (1,640 feet) both left and right every three minutes. Imagine Dubai's Burj Khalifa skyscraper laid on its side: It would be roughly the same size as this human-made basin, which produces waves for surfers of different abilities, just like ski resorts have slopes for beginners and experts.
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In January, as the 2025 World Surf League Championship Tour kicked off on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii, Brazilian Italo Ferreira waited for what felt like an eternity to ride a single wave. After a two-day weather delay, the area's signature big barrels remained elusive, forcing surfers to compete in subpar conditions. A few weeks later, Ferreira, the sport's first Olympic gold medalist, paddled into lake-flat water at the tour's second stop, but here the waves turned on in seconds with the press of a button. His decisive victory and dizzying aerials were stunning, but so was the setting: under stadium lights in the desert of Abu Dhabi. With technology that cost some $90 million to install, this 80 million-gallon surfing oasis—the most advanced wave pool in the Middle East—unleashes consistent, customizable waves that unfurl for 500 meters (1,640 feet) both left and right every three minutes. Imagine Dubai's Burj Khalifa skyscraper laid on its side: It would be roughly the same size as this human-made basin, which produces waves for surfers of different abilities, just like ski resorts have slopes for beginners and experts.
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