Mesa voters embrace Waveyard project

Surf’s up, Mesa. Mesa voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved the package to allow Waveyard, a $250 million resort and adventure park, to be built in west Mesa.

Final Waveyard results not expected until next week

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Proposition 300 passed with 65 percent of the vote, according to the unofficial results released by the Maricopa County Elections Department. Final results are expected by the end of the week.

“Mesa is now on the map,” said former congressman Matt Salmon, who worked as a consultant for the Waveyard company.

Voter approval allows the city to offer an incentive package worth more than $30 million (including interest) to the Waveyard development group. Tuesday’s vote authorizes the city to spend $1.5 million on public improvements and to give Scottsdale-based Waveyard LLC a $20 million sales-tax rebate over the next 10 years, plus the cost of interest.

The four years leading up to the election were emotional ones for the two heads of Waveyard, Jerry Hug and Richard Mladick.

“We’ve put our heart and soul into this, and we are so passionate about what we do,” Mladick said.

WHAT’S NEXT

The support of the voters is just the first step in months of planning, designing and building the project.

Hug and Mladick are planning a trip this week to Kentucky to meet with architects and retail consultants.

They also plan to attend the International Association of Amusement Parks expo in Orlando this month to meet with consultants and make plans.

And now that they know they can do the project, assembling the assets and investors should be a little easier, Hug said.

“We have a very, very deep list of potential investors,” he said.

Landing the deal with Waveyard is expected to have a domino effect on the entire city.

“When you land something like this it shows an attitude that the city is willing to do business,” said city manager Chris Brady.

Brady said developers as far east as the GM Proving Grounds have been “kicking the tires” as word of Waveyard has spread in the industry.

“We are getting more inquiries than we’ve ever had before,” he said.

Convention and Visitors Bureau director Robert Brinton, who also headed the campaign, compared Waveyard to the Mesa Arts Center and Allegiant Air — projects he said were “revolutionary.”

“There will be more good things happening in the next five years than have happened in the last 20,” he said.

THE JOURNEY

The Scottsdale developers first floated the idea last summer, marketing it as a “superpark” with surfing, whitewater rafting, kayaking, scuba diving and snorkeling.

The plan also included a resort hotel, conference center, spa, sand beach, sports and entertainment retail, office space and residential communities.

Not long after that, Waveyard’s revenue and employment potential attracted bids from both Surprise and Mesa.

Although the Surprise agreement touted financial perks and easy access to the booming West Valley, Mesa eventually won out with its prime location — proximity to Arizona State University, Scottsdale, the airport and two major freeways — and eventual incentive package.

The package requires the city to sell the 120 acres at Eighth Street and Dobson Road for $30 million.

The Waveyard would pay $10 million up front, then $2 million annually for the next 10 years.

The annual $2 million is expected to be paid in sales tax revenue, unless the project doesn’t meet the mark. In that case, the developers would have to pay the difference.

Meanwhile, the city would use that $10 million to relocate the softball fields and make changes to Riverview Park.

The issue was sent to the ballot based on the city’s charter, which dictates a vote on any recreational project that creates more than $1.5 million in debt.

Although the city has not identified the permanent home to the adult softball fields, officials promised in early October that they would remain in west Mesa, a sticking point for many community members.

Another concern for Mesa residents was the amount of water necessary to feed the park, but the developers claim it would use about the same amount as an 18-hole golf course.

The average full-size golf course uses 144 million gallons of water per year. Waveyard is projected to use 60 million to 100 million per year, in addition to the one-time amount of 30 million to 50 million gallons.

“Mesa right now is at an inflection point where wonderful things will happen in the city,” Hug said. “The citizens want to be different, to be special in the Valley.”