According to a report in SGB Outdoor, the Boulder, CO-based engineering firm S20 has delivered a 60-page study outlining the feasibility of building a whitewater park in the French Broad River near downtown Asheville, NC.
The study estimates it would cost $1.78 million to build the park at one of three locations on the river, including one near the New Belgium Brewery now under construction, according to a report by the Asheville Citizen-Times.
The idea of building a whitewater park in the French Broad was first proposed 20 years ago, but has been resurrected by local officials interested in building on the city's growing reputation as hub for outdoor recreation. The area is already home to more than 20 outdoor brands, who have banded together to form the Western North Carolina Gear Buildings Association.
The Asheville Parks and Greenways Foundation paid for the $13,000 study, according to the Citizen-Times.
S20 has designed more than a dozen whitewater parks, including the entirely man-made U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, NC and several Olympic venues. The Boulder firm is headed by Scott Shipley, a three-time Olympic whitewater slalom kayaker and World Cup champion who trained at the Nantahala Outdoor Center in Bryson City, NC in the 1980s and 1990s.
There are no comments
Please login to post comments