MONROE — The city might soon become the home of a wakeboarding adventureland.
A new Sammamish-based company is pitching the idea of building a wakeboarding sports park at Lake Tye with the goal of attracting people from all over the country.
The idea would be to build a wakeboarding course on the south end of the lake with cables connected to six lattice towers that would pull the wakeboarders through the water without the need of a boat. The boat is one of the most expensive and loudest parts of the sport.
“You would bring the sport to a large group of people who do not have a boat,” said Greg Young, a wakeboarding instructor for Northwest Riders, who would like to see the course built.
Wakeboarding, which combines skateboarding and snowboarding elements in the water, is becoming a frequent activity on the lake. Two competitions have been held there in the past two years. A third, sponsored by Northwest Riders, is scheduled for late August.
And now the lake could become a water park attracting this sport’s enthusiasts from all over the region.
“It’s an opportunity to create an original draw and put Monroe on the map as an exciting and adventurous spot using our natural resources,” Monroe Mayor Robert Zimmerman said.
This past week, H3O Development showed up at the council meeting to give its presentation. The company is only seeking permission to use the public lake. The $1 million investment would be paid by H3O, said Brad Smith, one of the company’s managers.
This project is still in its infancy. It could take a couple of months before all permits and approvals can be given. The construction part would last between six and eight months. H30 would work with Texas-based Sesitec Company, which sells the equipment and technology to make these kinds of parks around the world, Smith said.
The goal is to open the park in summer of 2012, he said.
It would be open for people of all ages and skill levels. They would pay by the hour, day or season, Smith said.
Monroe would get at least 10 percent of the park’s profits. This could mean about $39,000 in revenue in the first year for the city’s general or parks fund, Smith said.
That could grow to $150,000 in five years, he said.
The water park is not intended to replace the other lake’s activities, just to complement them, parks and recreation director Mike Farrell said.
“This is a win-win scenario,” he said.
H3O also is looking to build similar parks in King County and in Boise, Idaho. These parks are popular in Europe and several have been created in other parts of the country, including Texas and Florida.
Not needing a boat makes wakeboarding at the park attractive to everyone. It could get more people interested in the sport, said Mike Huffman, manager of Grizzly Sports.
The store sells wakeboarding and other sports equipment in Monroe.
“It would bring more people to the sport, and make it more accessible,” Huffman said.
Alejandro Dominguez: 425-339-3422; adominguez@heraldnet.com.
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