Cable Park Consulting and Sales - Mile High Wakeboarding

Home Page

Shop

Wakeboard Camps

Lessons & Clinics

Ride Sessions

Milliken Pool

Milliken Waterworks Swimming Pool

Group Events & Rentals

Wake Events & Contests

Colorado Lakes

Cable Park Consulting

Cable Wake Park Planning & Consulting

Boat Courses

Adventures and Trips

Company & Other Info

Calendar

MHW Calendar of Events

Photo & Video Gallery

MHW Photo & Video Gallery

Webcam & Weather

Webcam & Current Weather

Site Map

MHW Website Site Map

Cable Park Consulting and Sales - Mile High Wakeboarding

Things to Know
What Can Mile High Wakeboarding Do For Me?
What Are The Real Costs?

Sometimes you have the time to plan things out and make it perfect. At other times, you just need to get something done. This page of information is one of those times. While it's not perfect and will be updated in time, it's a very loose start to help a few of you out, and took less than 30 minutes start to finish.

Our one, single goal at Mile High Wakeboarding is to bring easier access to the thousands of people that would try wakeboarding and it's related water-sports, and would most likely stay involved in the sport if only given the chance to participate easily and on a more regular basis. This initiative directly impacts every other area of our sport, from boats to equipment to local and national events. With that in mind, we all have one major common interest and can work together. We are always much stronger together, and more cable parks will only bring this sport to new people.

So are you interested in building a cable wake park? Whether it's a simple 2-tower in your backyard, or a grand vision for the ultimate full size adventure park and your new Disneyland for extreme sport enthusiasts, there are some really fun ideas that you could access without reinventing the wheel, and some amazing people to talk to and even get involved that can save you time, money, and energy.

Let's be clear from the start. MHW does claim to have, nor does it have nearly the cable construction experience or reputation of those that have gone before us and paved the way, but we learn very quickly and follow in some pretty big and well-defined footsteps. Our expertise is, simply put, getting it done. From planning to presentations to detailed business how to's (well beyond and much more detailed than a business plan) to speaking engagements and meetings, to much, much more, MHW can help you every step of the way. Our services are not free (nor is anyone's) but there is enough information here, including links to other sites, for you to be able to put together a rough idea of what you are getting into without even having to pick up a phone.

Before you decide this is your thing, have a solid idea of where you will get your land, water, money, and support before you even take it to the level of gathering info. Once you've done your homework and you think you can get it done, start reaching out to recruit others to get involved. Be mindful of your time and others and don't ask something you should already know or have the answer to.

Regardless of how tough it can be, if its your dream, go for it! While some of this may sound harsh or abrupt, it's not impossible to do and help is out there at every level if you know where to look and who to ask. We are here to shorten the process for you.

Steve Jones

Return to Top

Things to Know
Setting aside the backyard scenario and thinking more about commercial applications for a moment, here are some things to know up front that will save you time, energy, and frustration.

Getting it Done: Most of your "wakeboarding" and other friends will be pumped for you. Few or even none of your contacts will ultimately be able to be relied upon to help you get things done or even be part of what you will be doing. If you are lucky enough to know and/or work with accountable people, you are one step ahead and be sure not to take it for granted. For most of you, this is your idea, your deal, and your project - so know up front that most likely, it's 100% up to you.

Your Salary: Building out a cable park is a full time job with zero pay. Until you open and make that first sale, your income with your project is zero - and could stay zero for the first 2-3 years. If you are doing this for a paycheck, you may reconsider and at least have some alternate sources of revenue to live on.

Access to Money: Traditional methods of business financing are most likely out of the question, even if you have absolutely perfect credit and existing company assets. If you are willing to tie your home or other substantial personal asset(s) to a loan, it's more doable from a bank's perspective, but the areas of accessible money will most likely be in angel or other private investments. Without getting into too much detail, money can be one of the 2 biggest hang ups, and the ROI (you should know this term) is longer than you will think.

Location: You've heard this before but location is very important. While some die hard riders may be willing to drive up to an hour to go to a cable park or site, most of your customers (hint) like to stay within about 30 minutes or less of home. There are 100's of studies and variables on this, but in general, the closer you are to the population, the better chance you have of succeeding. Consider the 10/10 rule: for every 10 miles you move out from the center of a population, you lose 10% of your potential customers.

Google Earth While not always up to date, Google Earth is your new friend. It's a great resource for looking over your area. This is how we found or connected to most of the sites we are involved with. There are also other tricks we can help you with in terms of identifying a location and its details.

Manufacturer Options: There are several cable manufacturer/distributor options out there, over 10 that we found, and all have their pros and cons. When you cut to the chase, there are those that have wake experience and those who don't. These are the 3 major ones that we found and would consider to be noteworthy.

First and foremost is Rixen and their US distributor, Cable Wake Parks. Rixen is by far the most experienced cable system manufacturer and the guys at Cable Wake Parks have been running cable parks longer than almost anyone in the US and know exactly what they are doing. Historically, these guys are the best of the best and set the standard for everyone else.

The second major provider is Sesitec. In short, they are good at what they do as well, and the owner used to be with Rixen. Sesitec really put the 2-tower system on the map and when it comes to obstacle designs, Sesitec's US distributor, The Wake Park Project does a great job at thinking out of the box (or on and over the box if you get the pun) and have really brought local access to the masses in the US.

The third major player, which is newer to the scene, but our overall first choice, is ERC Cable Systems. In our opinion, ERC (Endless Ride Cables) was and is the best option for a variety of reasons, mostly pertaining to being a US based company, having locally available parts, and a design and customer service team second to none. (For full disclosure, Mile High Wakeboarding is biased to, and is the Western distributor for ERC, but we'll work with you regardless of what cable system you go with because our ultimate goal is to see advancement for our sport.) We outright broke some gear in 2011 (completely and totally our fault) and it was covered by warranty....how's that for service?

Stay Focused - Don't Get Distracted:It's easy to get wrapped up in the 100's of cool ideas or others opinions on what you should do, but don't get distracted from "getting it done" or being a democracy. Sometimes starting small is the best option to stay debt free and get something going. Don't confuse getting something done with public perception of what a true "cable park" is either. Get something built and grow as you can, and as it makes sense to do so regardless if you call it a cable park or cable site or whatever. While any wake park with a full size system is considered more "legit" by industry standards, don't get hung up on the name and whether or not you qualify as an official "cable park" with your single 2-tower system next to the local skate park and taco stand. Some of the full size systems out there now are just getting by and/or have or will change hands for a variety of factors. Anything can and will happen in business, but run things right from the start and you'll be in a much better position to succeed and have some longevity. Wanna be in it for the short term or the long term? Make a mistake and you won't make that decision yourself.

Return to Top

What Can Mile High Wakeboarding Do For Me?
We at Mile High Wakeboarding know our strengths and weaknesses. After you have done your homework and are ready to move on to the next step, here are some things we do really well and can help you with.

Financial Plans: Usually 1 of the 3 major parts of the business plan, the financial plan covers all of the related income and expenses and can be as detailed as you need to make it. Most projections are just that, an educated (or non-educated) guess; but we can help you focus on what to really expect for P&L and help you plan accordingly based on the real, here and now.

Business Plans: There are 2 types of business plans. The very pretty, stocked with pictures, graphs, supporting demographics, references, and other nice details you present to those that you wish to loan you money - and the real, down to earth, how do I do and run things, extremely detailed, nitty gritty, exact, to-the-penny, every single detail plan (see below) that you will ultimately have to come up with for every area of your business - and teach to your staff. This will make more sense once you have the go ahead for your project so in short, we can help you with both types of plans or do them for you.

Presentation Materials: You must have pretty pictures, layouts, and presentations to quickly convey your message, and get to the point quickly and simply, especially to those that have no idea what wakeboarding is. We can create or help you create these presentations and talking points.

Actual Presentations: If you are not comfortable standing in front of 10 or 1000 people, we can help. Our background before wakeboarding was in the corporate world, and lets just say that we do this best. You may need to pitch your idea to a City, Town, or County at any and all levels, and we can assure you that there are very few things we haven't heard at least once, and can't prepare you for. We are very capable of any presentation you may need done, at any level, with anyone, period. And if this is the one -do or die- presentation to make or break something - you want to make sure you have the right guys standing next to you..

Detailed Business Planning: What exact prices do you have? What are the variables with each? What happens if you are "slammed" and there is a line and upset people? What products will you have outside of the cable? Who makes your brochures? What are the daily procedures for your staff? How and when does your staff get paid? Security for your retail shop and park? (Better have video!) Insurance? You are probably starting to get the idea and we've only touched on this area. We can save you 10,000+ man hours on this alone and can virtually guarantee we have the best systems, procedures, checklists, and how to's of anyone out there, bar none.

Marketing Plan: This only matters once you get your final approval but we know this really well and have exact numbers for every idea you can or will think of to back it up. A hint, it's not what or who you think and it's the most important thing once you are up and running.

Return to Top

What Are The Real Costs?
We will update this component as needed to include more detail, but below are some approximate and realistic numbers to have in mind for building out a small or large cable park. Know and understand these figures before jumping in. The numbers never lie, so if you are "not a numbers guy" or leave that to someone else, get with the program and learn to be involved (unless of course, you are infinitely wealthy and have people that do this for you). There are a 1000 considerations and each project is different so these numbers are only to be used as very rough guidelines.

Each 2-tower system will end up costing you up to approximately $60,000 to get up and running. This will get you a 2-tower system, the needed concrete, and the electrical hookups (depending on how long of a run the electrical stretch is). Electrical is the big cost here so it changes greatly depending on a variety of factors. This estimated cost does not include permits, land, docks, water, lake or site prep, obstacles, buildings, improvements, payroll, taxes, rental equipment, insurance, or anything else - just one 2-tower system that functions.

Each 6-tower (full size) system will end up costing you approximately $650,000 or more. This cost will vary wildly depending on the brand of system used, the land and lake requirements, whether or not there is land or docks around the perimeter of the cable, and whether or not you have an island or water break (which is a must), and whether you use metal or wood obstacles, floating or fixed, etc. and a thousand other variables. Add the other normal costs (some are listed above with the 2-towers) and start thinking about ROI and you'll see what a tough option this can be unless you have plenty of funding from day one that doesn't have to be paid back within a short time, and a long enough season to make it work.

Each obstacle, rail, or kicker will vary wildly in cost, and can cost as much as $50,000 for one single obstacle (no joke). If you choose wood, are conservative, and can find some sort of local sponsorship, you can reduce and/or offset the costs considerably. A safe estimate is to plan 10k per item, and much more for the really cool stuff that the boys will want to jib on. There are various opinions on what's better but the basics are right here.

Return to Top