Neptune Beach Surf Park at Alameda Point Goes to Council

The Alameda City Council holds a workshop on Wednesday, Nov. 4, at 5:30 p.m. on how to start exclusive talks with Neptune Beach Surf Club, which wants to build a surf park with an artificial wave pool at Enterprise Park, the roughly 21-acre waterfront park on the south side of Alameda Point in Alameda, CA. No lease or project is up for approval.

• Where: Enterprise Park, about 21 acres on the south side of Alameda Point.
• When: Wednesday, Nov. 4, at a 5:30 p.m. special council meeting, City Hall, 2263 Santa Clara Avenue, third floor. Comment in person or on Zoom.
• What: A workshop so council can steer staff on an Exclusive Negotiation Agreement (ENA) process. It isn't a vote on a lease.
• Who pays for planning: Neptune Beach Surf Club would fund an outside landscape design firm and some technical work. The city runs the process.
• What's next: A city-led master plan for all of Enterprise Park, with several concepts for the public to weigh in on.

What is the Neptune Beach surf park?

It's a pitch for a commercial wave pool that makes surfable waves on demand, no ocean swell needed.

The city staff report for the workshop describes big engineered basins, often several acres, pushing out waves on a schedule. The name has history here, too. Neptune Beach was Alameda's big seaside amusement park before World War II.

The idea has been building for a while:

• Spring 2025: The club approached the city.
• May 3, 2025: Its community survey drew over 1,200 responses.
• May 17, 2025: About 150 people came to a pop-up at Enterprise Park.
• July 10, 2025: The Recreation and Parks Commission voted unanimously to explore it.
• Oct. 21, 2025 and July 7, 2026: Council discussed it in closed session, then asked for a public workshop.

Does this approve the surf park?

No. An ENA just gives the city and the club a set window to study the idea and see if they can agree on terms.

The city keeps full say. If there's no deal that meets the city's goals, nothing gets built. Any lease or environmental review comes back to council separately.

What happens to the rest of Enterprise Park?

The whole park would get its first master plan, and that plan moves forward whether or not a surf park ends up in it.

Right now the park has no master plan. Staff lay out the steps:

• A community kickoff to set goals and hear concerns.
• Several design options built from that input.
• Another round of public feedback on those options.
• Review by the Recreation and Parks Commission, then a final council vote.

So the park's vision comes first, and the wave pool has to fit it.

What happens next

Council gives staff direction on Nov. 4. Staff haven't put a date on the master plan kickoff yet. If you use Enterprise Park, this is the moment to say what you'd want there. Follow more Alameda development news and Alameda community news.