Just add whitewater

11/08/2005

By Scott Dodd, Charlotte.com -- This is how you make waves.

For years, the U.S. National Whitewater Center existed only in architects' sketches and kayakers' daydreams.

Now, Charlotte's most unusual sports attraction is taking shape along the Catawba River. And that shape is being poured in giant concrete trenches.

In a few months, workers will transform those trenches into boulder-strewn river bottoms. Then seven massive pumps, custom-built in Sweden, will flood the channels with 560,000 gallons of water a minute.

The result: artificial whitewater rapids rivaling anything you'll find in nature.

"People will be blown away when they see it," said senior project manager Scott Carr with Rodgers Builders.

Carr stood in the middle of a concrete basin Monday and described how crews will use rock clumps and floats to create the "zoom flume," one of the course's most thrilling rapids. It's modeled after a river in Germany -- a favorite of the course's designer, Scott Shipley, a former Olympic kayaker.

The attraction has always been hard to describe. There's nothing like it in the country, and few in the world: an artificial, recirculating river where rafters, canoers and kayakers can brave manmade rapids, then ride a conveyer belt 25 feet to the top and do it all over again.

It's also been hard to design and build. The construction crew even had to invent a way of pouring concrete smoothly in sweeping curves to create the channel walls. Workers named the steel contraption "The Castle," after its inventor, project superintendent Frank Cassel.

The idea for the whitewater park came from two Charlotte businessmen and paddling enthusiasts who heard kayakers rave about the course built for the 2000 Olympics in Australia.

Believers put together a business plan, won support from public officials and secured financing from local banks to build the $25 million facility.

Crews broke ground this summer and started pouring concrete last month. Already, they've filled in nearly half of the three-quarters-of-a-mile course.

It's set to open in June, and the Charlotte Sports Commission has already booked two paddling competitions that will attract athletes from around the world in 2006 and 2007.

ON THE WEB

For more details: www. charlottewhitewater.com.

Whitewater Park

What is it?

The U.S. National Whitewater Center will feature three man-made channels with designer rapids, open to athletes and the public. The center's other amenities will include biking trails, camping areas and climbing walls.

How much will it cost?

Rafters will pay $15 to $25 to spend up to 90 minutes navigating with a guide. Paddlers can also buy passes for repeat visits.

Who's building it?

A nonprofit group led by paddling enthusiasts and Charlotte business people.

How are they paying for it?

Local banks and charities loaned the group $20 million for construction. Another $5 million is being raised from private donations, grants, marketing rights and sponsorships.

Where is it being built?

On 307 acres of Mecklenburg County-owned park land along the Catawba River, north of Interstate 85.