$50 Million Wave Pool Planned for San Francisco Bay Area

Originally posted on SURFER | By Dashel Pierson | Last updated Jun 4, 2025 1:29 PM ET

Although California boasts hundreds of miles of coastline, with a few spots being some of the most trafficked surfing zones in the entire world, there’s a push for wave pools in the Golden State.

Lots of ‘em, in fact. From San Diego, to Orange County, to Palm Springs, and now, all the way up in the San Francisco Bay Area. Neptune Surf Club, a wave pool project powered by Endless Surf’s manmade surfing technology, has been proposed for the city of Alameda, the island community located in the East Bay. And while the project is still in the early stages, the buzz is humming along.

Recently, a “pop-up community meeting” was held to discuss the project with residents of Alameda. The project is being helmed by architect and surfer, William Duncanson; it comes with an estimated price tag of $50 million, pending red tape and approvals; and it’s projected to open by 2029.

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The space in which the proposed wave pool will occupy is a former Navy zone. Right now, it’s unused and off-limits to the public. Speaking with Wave Pool Mag about why Alameda, Duncanson said:

“It starts with the Bay Area, perhaps the most innovative, progressive, diverse, sustainably minded and surf-crazed metropolitan area on the planet. There are other MSA’s with more people in general, or more surfers, but nothing compares to the Bay Area as a comprehensive assemblage of factors to make it an ideal location for a surf park.

“Alameda is at the center of this region, it is proximate to the Bay Bridge and I-880 (so has good access from all over the East Bay, North Bay, SF, South Bay and the Peninsula). Our two-hour catchment goes past Sacramento and down to Santa Cruz. Alameda has a tight-knit community that is focused on outdoor active and passive recreation.”

Endless Surf, as you may well know, has 02 Surftown Muc already in operation in Munich, Germany. As far as other projects in the works for the United States, there’s a couple on the way for Florida – first, with one coming near Sebastian Inlet, and a second (with Warren Smith inspired by a freak novelty wave behind the wheel) coming to the Gulf Coast.

This article first appeared on SURFER and was syndicated with permission.

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