Increase Municipality Revenue – How Cable Parks Create Jobs and Tax Income in Muncipalities

What’s a cable park?

First, you may wonder, what exactly is a Wakeboard cable park? A Wakeboard cable park is a towing system like a T-bar lift, just running in a circular motion. It consists of towers that hold up a circular running steel rope on which the athletes are pulled along across a body of water in a circular motion. The course is often accompanied by ramps and features that allow for tricks, jumps and other acrobatics. The whole system is powered by low-noise electric motors. It is managed by an operator at the operation station.

A Golden Opportunity for Muncipalities

You probably have already guessed where this is going now. Wakeboard cable parks or also known as Wakeparks, are an opportunity to monetize properties that include a sizable body of water, like mining lakes, quarry ponds or former harbor areas that would otherwise be hard to redevelop. There usually aren’t many use-cases available for this type of property with cable parks being the least known solution.

The immediate benefits are rather obvious. New businesses create jobs and tax revenue for the municipality. But those aren’t the only perks of a Wakepark in your region. Wakeboarding is a growing individual outdoor sport with a dedicated athlete and amateur scene, but cable parks aren’t frequently and readily available everywhere. That’s why enthusiasts often travel rather long distances at times to get to a place where they can enjoy their favorite sport. In turn this means that a Wakepark usually also boosts the tourist volume of a region, specifically guest accommodations, and related outdoor activities.

Wakeparks can spark new life in otherwise desolate areas, attract additional businesses once the increase in tourism becomes apparent and help to pump up the appeal of the region in general. But that’s not all.

Improve water quality and turn brownfield and former Industrial areas into a sprawling attraction

Cable Parks increase the overall health and longevity of a body of water as well. Wakeboarding and Water ski create small waves on the surface of the water. By that more oxygen is inserted into the water, which has a positive effect on the reduction of algae growth, but – as we’ve observed – isn’t causing any stress to the native flora and fauna. Fish and birds are especially thriving and benefit from the increased water quality and the new shelter areas in the artificial structures in the water.

Just look at quarry ponds, former industrial harbors and excavation areas that were needed for high- or railway construction, for example. All three come with a significant risk to residents. Unsupervised bodies of water are prone to drowning accidents and are often used as illegal waste and trash dumps. On the other hand, it’s not possible to have those areas under total surveillance or have lifeguards on station year-round – it’s simply too expensive. A business as a Wakepark could be the solution you were looking for.

Quarry pond and excavation sites are also, at least most of the time, not located adjacent to residential areas. This increases the difficulty of finding use-cases for them. Wakeboard cable parks work a bit differently. Their reach goes beyond local leisure and recreational activities which means that guests are used to longer traveling times. This is a bit different with former industrial harbors which are often located closer to the city center.

If your goal goes beyond increasing tax revenue and handing over difficult properties to a business owner, it is important to plan for a cable park and possibly extend bus and bike lines as well as other forms of public transport to make the cable park more accessible.

While we only touched on the various benefits of a Wakepark in your community, there’s still a lot more to talk and know about. Don’t hesitate to get in touch! We have decades of experience of building them and know what needs to be done to make it a financial success for your municipality.