This 50-year-old metro Phoenix water park sold for $49 million. What's next for Big Surf

Corrections & Clarifications: An incorrect sale price was included in the headline of a previous version of this story. The correct sale price is $49 million.

The Tempe water park that was home to Big Surf for 50 years has been sold to a real estate company.

After the water park’s equipment was auctioned off in February, it became clear that Big Surf did not intend to stay in business. Big Surf, which is believed to have been home to the first wave pool in the country, has been closed since the summer 2019 season ended. The park did not reopen due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Overton Moore Properties purchased the 35.5-acre property for more than $49 million, according to Velocity Retail Group’s statement. On its website, Overton Moore Properties is described as a “premier full service commercial real estate company.” The company, which is headquartered in Southern California, has purchased several industrial properties across the Valley in the past several months, including in Buckeye and Glendale.

According to Velocity Retail, 30 offers ranging between $30 and $50 million competed to buy the land just north of the Loop 202.

Big Surf, which opened as a Polynesian-themed water park with in 1969, was previously owned by El Paso-based, family-owned company Inland Oceans.

For subscribers:How Big Surf park made Arizona a surfing destination

What will happen to the property formerly known as Big Surf?

It’s unclear what Overton Moore Properties intends to do with the former water park at 1500 N. McClintock Drive in Tempe and its renowned wave-making mechanism, which earned the park a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark designation from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 2013.

According to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, “Big Surf Waterpark was the first wave pool in North America to consistently generate 3-5 foot spilling waves suitable for surfing.” The park continued to use the original equipment for decades, until its closure.

The Arizona Republic has reached out to Overton Moore Properties for more information about the future of the venue.

According to the press release about Big Surf’s sale, Inland Oceans chose Overton Moore due to its “extensive background in developing quality industrial projects throughout the southwest” and “a comfort level that OMP could … create a development that will enhance (and) bring employment and other activity to the trade area.”

The owners of Inland Oceans believe the new owner will create “a quality development and be something that residents and the city will be proud of for years to come.”

If the longtime inland surfing destination is lost to history, similar venues are in the works in the Valley. A venue promising a “world-class surf experience” in Maricopa signed a lease agreement with the city last year, and Cannon Beach will open a 3.3-acre surf lagoon called Revel Surf in Mesa, though an opening date has yet to be announced.

Reach Entertainment Reporter KiMi Robinson at kimi.robinson@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @kimirobin and Instagram @ReporterKiMi.

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