Layne Beachley Joins URBNSURF Board - Stab Mag

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Layne Beachley Joins URBNSURF Board

The 7x World Champ brings important expertise to the wavepark development.

elsewhere // Sep 14, 2021
Words by Ethan Davis
Reading Time: 2 minutes

URBNSURF have just appointed seven-time world champion and current Chair of Surfing Australia, Layne Beachley AO to their advisory board. URBNSURF Sydney is scheduled to commence construction later this month.

Beachley participated in the URBNSURF Sydney capital raise helping to secure the $55 million funding for the Sydney facility. She joins the existing board which comprises Simon Bayley, Chair, who successfully completed the development of URBNSURF Melbourne, David Wakeley, former CEO of Virgin Money and Alex Hone, Managing Partner, Realside Financial Group.

Illustration of the proposed URBNSURF Sydney development.

URBNSURF CEO, Damon Tudor said, “We are thrilled to have Layne onboard to help propel the group and work cohesively with our other board members on the business and specifically the Sydney project, which will be accessible by over two million Sydney residents in under 30 minutes.

‘“We are excited to finally be delivering on our vision of being a multi-park operator. The potential for the Sydney facility is substantial and these new appointments bolster URBNSURF’s industry knowledge and expertise, particularly in the world of surfing,” Tudor concludes.

Despite COVID-19 restrictions and forced closures, the privately owned Australian company has seen a continuing strong appetite for surfing with URBNSURF’s Melbourne park selling over 200,000 sessions to date.

The lagoon, similar in size to the Sydney Cricket Ground and located at the Hill Road facility, is only 14 kilometres west of Sydney’s CBD and is expected to see up to 300,000 guests catch perfect waves each year. URBNSURF Sydney is scheduled to open in early 2023.

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