Surf's up (in Edina)

Pirate-themed water slides and cable rides that swoop dangling users down to the pool may delight kids at the Edina Aquatic Center. But they aren't enough to attract teenagers who crave something edgier.

That should change next year, when the city adds a surfing pool to the center's attractions.

Purchase of a FlowRider for $1.021 million was approved by the City Council last week. The project will be paid for by aquatic center proceeds that have been saved for the purchase for years.

"This is huge," said Ed MacHolda, the city's assistant park and recreation director. "Like any successful business or operation, you can't stand still. ... We are every day trying to provide the safest, cleanest, best experience we can to keep young families coming back to enjoy the facility."

The FlowRider features a padded bottom and walls and a three-inch sheet of fast-moving water that shoots uphill, allowing users to body board or surf. Edina's pool will feature spectator seating for 80 people, and MacHolda said he hopes to create a surf team and hold competitions on weekends and evenings.

Edina's FlowRider will be the second in the state. The first was installed at the Water Park of America in Bloomington in 2006. Edina had tried to buy one in 2006, but bids came in higher than expected. This time, the city believes the entire job will cost about $150,000 less than expected.

Nationwide, only a handful of cities own FlowRiders. MacHolda said Edina Park and Rec, intent on boosting attendance at the city's water park, badly wanted the surfing pool because it fits nicely into the aquatic center's tight footprint and because it is expected to attract older users to the Aquatic Center.

The Aquatic Center is a city enterprise, meaning it is expected to be self-supporting. MacHolda said attendance at the center, which opens the first weekend after school ends and runs through August, peaked in 1999 with around 14,700 people and about 3,700 families holding season tickets.

Although residents of more than 40 Twin Cities communities buy season passes, as Edina has aged, the number of season ticket holders has dwindled to about 9,200 individuals and 3,000 families.

The Olympic-sized pool opened in 1958 and is the oldest pool of that size in Hennepin County, MacHolda said. The city has spruced up the facility over the years, adding a shallow end and steps to the big pool, the pirate-themed water slide and the cable ride. While some of those changes were expected to appeal to kids up to their teen years, MacHolda said in reality, many teens find the water park too tame.

"A lot of the e-mails I've gotten are about how nice it would be to put a FlowRider in place because my son or daughter is outgrowing the facility," he said. "After about 11 or 12, it's hard to keep them here."

As a "skill-building amenity," MacHolda expects the surf pool to attract new users, many of them returning again and again to perfect their surfing.

Beginners ride the pool's wave for an average of three to 12 seconds, meaning that 250 riders could use the pool per hour. Proficient riders surf for an average of up to 40 seconds, which would bring use down to 120 people per hour.

FlowRider users must be 48 inches tall to use a boogie board and 52 inches tall to surf standing up. Users will be warned to avoid the pool if they have health problems like a bad back or heart condition.