Los Angeles has no shortage of surfers.
What it doesn’t have—at least yet—is a wave pool.
A new proposal could change that.
Allen Sanford, co-founder of the California Surf Club, has unveiled an early concept to redevelop Redondo Beach’s aging Seaside Lagoon into “Ocean Park,” a year-round recreation facility featuring a swimming lagoon, park and picnic areas, and a compact wave pool. The plan is scheduled to go before Redondo Beach officials on September 15.
The wave technology hasn’t been selected, and the renderings are preliminary. But the goal is intriguing: both rights and lefts ranging from waist- to head-high, with approximately 12-second rides and settings for beginner, intermediate and advanced surfers.
Related: A Wave Pool in Los Angeles? Billionaire Plans South Bay Surf Park
Raised Water Research describes the concept as a “compact-but-fun wave pool” that could transform a facility currently operating only during the summer into a year-round attraction. Proponents estimate Ocean Park could generate roughly $1 million annually in additional city tax revenue while donating at least 100,000 waves per year to nonprofits such as the Jimmy Miller Memorial Foundation.
The proposal comes as Redondo weighs what to do with its increasingly troublesome Seaside Lagoon. The city has secured $10 million in state funding and committed another $1 million toward modernization. The aging facility has accumulated approximately $175,000 in water-quality penalties over two years, while a 2025 pump failure reportedly cost $60,000 and shuttered it for roughly two weeks.
But Ocean Park is far from a done deal—and it’s not LA’s first wave-pool dream.
Ocean Park isn’t the only surf park vying to break ground in Los Angeles. Just a few miles north, billionaire tech investor Vinny Smith—a major backer behind the Palm Springs Surf Club—acquired a nine-acre parcel in El Segundo for $54 million with plans to build a $200 million South Bay Surf Park.
However, the latest updates indicate that the El Segundo project remains stalled in administrative limbo due to high construction costs, complex permitting, and local regulatory hurdles.
Suddenly, LA’s long-running wave-pool drought has two contenders.
Neither is guaranteed to break ground.
But both are closer to a wave pool in Los Angeles than ever before.
Related: $200 Million Los Angeles Wave Pool Project Remains in Limbo