Outdoor Sports moving Indoors?

Along the same note of my last whitewater rafting park in KY post, I ran across another article recently, supporting the concept that many of the adventure sports will find counterparts in an indoor/manmade arena.

Jeff Coy on Hospitality.net brought in some interesting point regarding the growing trend of man-made adventure sports. Rafting parks, surf pools and hotel water parks are all the examples he brought to the table. I agree with the emerging trend, and to a degree I personally would like to try the surf pools and surfing wave walls.

However, Coy also says that "sporting enthusiasts say it is hard to get away from work at the right time. It is difficult and expensive to travel to the coast when the perfect ocean wave is breaking or reach the backwoods when the whitewater river is cresting..."

I see these indoor arenas and play areas as a complimentary service within the same industry, and not really a competative force with the true outdoor sport. You will never be able to compare a man-made rafting course with a Grand Canyon rafting trip, or the rush of huge whitewater on the Gauley River. And I don't think any of these "enthusiasts" are looking to replace the real experience with these indoor ones.

The trend of shorter vacations is real. So people looking for a real outdoor rafting trip will look for a 2 or 3 day trip, not a 6 or 7 day trip. The same hold true for skiing. An indoor ski slope acts as a great bunny hill. Man-made ski material in Europe allows skiier to practice even during the summer. But don't think for a second that they will fore-go the mountain slope for a dinky indoor arena.

So it becomes more a matter of vacation time, and less about indoor versus outdoor. Outdoor adventure providers should shift some of their inventory to reflect that of the short-vacation trends, but also support the introduction of the indoor arena, as that may be exactly what the outdoor industry needs; a good introduction to the real deal.

KY Whitewater Park In the Works

WKYT 27 reported recently that officials are considering a whitewater park at the Kentucky-Virginia lines in hopes to boost tourism in the state. Right now, Kentucky is basically void of any decent "river rafting" option (as is the case with most of the Midwest), so this may provide an opportunity for not only the Kentucky residents, but neighboring states as well.

I assume that would be the main focus when officials say "tourism", because I doubt visitors would make a special trip to Kentucky just for a whitewater rafting park. Plus, you have the US national whitewater center down in NC, and a few others across the East.

I would venture to say the most business would still be the local market (at least for the near future). When I was talking to one of the Marketing Directors at the USNWC a couple years ago when they first opened, he told us that their visitors and target market were Charlotte and Atlanta, both legitimate population centers nearest the center.

So a tourism boost? Possible, but the more realistic expectation would be to give the locals of KY and VA something to do.

Rafting through Waller Creek, TX

I think I blogged about this issue previously, but seems like there is still some buzz with the locals and the whitewater park/route proposal. Some cities are in the process of adding whitewater rafting parks, with scores of acres dedicated to a fake river with rapids and descents. Waller Creek is still trying to do their own version of imitation whitewater rafting.

The proposal would take an already existing stretch of canal that runs through the city and turn it into a whitewater rafting run. The canal was originally propsed to take water from one end of a plain to the lake below, traveling straight through the city. River rafting was never in the original design intentions of the canal. If you read feedback on some of the news, you find quite a lot of different opinions on the matter. From the sounds of it, the canal, as it stand right now, is not a very pretty sight, and is poluted. I am not convinced this would be a good idea, but it would be minimal in construction, since the infrastucture is already in place. Could be worth a try?

Wisconsim Wants a Whitewater Rafting Park

Wisconsin has now apparently jumped on the "I want a whitewater toy" now as well. The recent addittions and news about teh upcoming whitewater rafting parks has sruck interest in many different parts of the nation.

Matt Johnson of Appleton, WI is part of the Fox Cities Whitewater Park Committee, which has retained the engineering firm of Recreation Engineering and Planning Inc. of Boulder, Colo., to perform a feasibility study on constructing a whitewater park somewhere in the Fox Cities.

We will see how these whitewater parks continue to grow in popularity. Can they make enough money to keep running is the question.

Another White Water Rafting Park!?!

Yet another white water rafting park is in the process of moving forward in the U.S. I mentioned that me and some other white water rafting outfitters visited the North Carolina park in our last visit to the East coast. Now plans are in the build "Run of River" in the Kennebec River gorge, just behind downtown.

The interesting part is that the project is set to be on a large peice of riverbank property. The property location "is crucial to the project," says Greg Dore, the promoter.

I will keep everyone updated on the progress of these new white water parks as they continue to grow. I now have heard of three parks in the works to get approval and funding. We shall see what the outcome holds.