Woodward’s First International Action Sports Facility Set To Open In Sydney, Australia

A rendering of the exterior of Woodward Sydney, Woodward's just-announced first urban center (and ... [+] first outside North America) to open in late 2024

For more than 50 years, Woodward has provided kids (and adults) around the U.S. the opportunity to participate in action sports experiences, whether through its sport-specific summer camps (skateboarding, BMX, snowboarding and more) for young rippers or its introductory experiences for older athletes.

Now counting eight facilities, Woodward will open its ninth—and its first outside North America—in late 2024 with Woodward Sydney. It's the brand's first expansion since Woodward Park City opened in 2019.

The facility will be Woodward's first "urban center," accessible from the heart of a major metro area in contrast to its mountain centers nestled into the ranges of Oregon, California, Utah, Colorado and Vermont or its overnight camps in Pennsylvania and California.

With Woodward Sydney, the brand's nine locations will include Woodward Mt. Bachelor, Woodward Tahoe, Woodward West, Woodward Park City, Woodward Copper, Woodward Eldora, Woodward Pennsylvania and Woodward Killington.

Sports that the facility will be set up to accommodate include skateboarding, BMX, scooter, snowboarding, skiing, rock climbing, bouldering and fitness training, for levels ranging from beginner to Olympians.

The facility will span 68,000 square feet over three levels, which Gunnarson says is similar to the footprint of the building at the base of Woodward Park City.

A rendering of the skatepark at the new Woodward Sydney facility set to open in late 2024

Australia's role in shaping action sports culture can't be overstated, and some of the industry's most promising athletes competing today hail from the continent.

At the Tokyo Olympics, Australian native Keegan Palmer took gold in the men's skateboard park discipline.

Palmer moved to San Diego at 14 to train and pursue skateboarding professionally, but other Australian aspiring pro skateboarders may be able to remain at home with the new Woodward facility.

One of the biggest existing action sports training facilities in Australia is Ryan Williams’ private compound, RWilly Land, which he opened in 2019. Williams has had breakout success as a BMX and scooter athlete who has competed in X Games and performs with Nitro Circus. (He also appeared on the most recent season of America's Got Talent: Extreme.)

Even though Williams is generous with access to his facility and is dedicated to growing action sports, a public facility on the continent will be a major growth factor, especially for beginners who may be nervous or embarrassed to get on a skateboard or BMX bike for the first time.

At the 2022 Beijing Games, Australia took home two medals in snowboarding (with Scotty James taking silver in men's halfpipe and Tess Coady taking bronze in women's slopestyle) and one in freestyle skiing, with Jakara Anthony's women's moguls gold.

New Zealand is also becoming a major action sports player, with snowboarder Zoi Sadowski-Synnott becoming the nation's first-ever Winter Olympics gold medalist in Beijing. Men's halfpipe skier Nico Porteous then became the first man and youngest New Zealander to win gold with his win.

Adding Sadowski-Synnott's silver in women's snowboard big air for a total medal count of three, Beijing 2022 was the nation's most successful Winter Olympics since it first competed in 1952. Woodward Sydney will not only be a crucial hub for progression in Australia but also for its neighbor.

"Australia has been hugely supportive of action sports as a whole, and we have great operating partners who were just frothing to bring a Woodward to the Australia action sports community," said Woodward president Chris Gunnarson.

"An exhausting amount of internal discussion and research all pointed to the Australian market and in particular Sydney was the right place to start."

Kieran Woolley, a New South Wales native, competed at the Tokyo Games in men's skateboard park and is "extremely excited" for Woodward Sydney's arrival.

On his second visit to the U.S., he spent a week at Woodward West, which he says improved his skating tremendously, not to mention allowed him to make new friends and connections in the sport.

"I’m sure there are thousands of kids just like me that dream of going to Woodward at some point during their life and now that's going to be a reality for a lot of kids," Woolley, 19, said. "It's going to be sick to see all the action sport shredders it's going to produce down under."

TOKYO, JAPAN - AUGUST 05: Keegan Palmer of Team Australia reacts with Kieran Woolley of Team ... [+] Australia after winning Gold during the Men's Skateboarding Park Finals on day thirteen of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Urban Sports Park on August 05, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

And while Woodward has earned its reputation as the premier place for Olympians to hone their skills outside of competition—from snowboarders practicing landing their double cork 1620s on airbags before taking them to the mountain and skateboarders working on difficult lines in the park—the brand understands that to invest in the future of action sports is to invest in those who may want to learn them recreationally, with no professional aspirations.

"That's the most exciting stuff to look at on social media, but it doesn't show the other side of what we’re trying to create—a pipeline, a place you can show up and be fully immersed into not just a sport but a lifestyle that's unique to action sports," Gunnarson said.

"The pathway to progress at whatever place or level you want to get to is truly Woodward in a nutshell," he added. "We want to be there every step of the way. We build out our programs to foster fun, individuality, and personal progression."

The Woodward Sydney complex will also be a major jobs creator in the city. At almost every one of its locations, Woodward is a year-round business, flexing up its staffing seasonally to match its volume of business.

Action sports industry employees—chairlift staff, ski instructors—who work at resorts located in the mountains during the winter often have to leave the area to find work out of season.

But many jobs at Woodward are year-round, allowing those who want to work in the industry to build a career—and, in Sydney, doing so in the community in which they already live.

"Woodward is a real factor for the growth of action sports from the consumer standpoint, but also a really important customer of ours is our employees," Gunnarson said. "As we broaden out and expand it only creates more opportunities for likeminded people who love action sports to find real jobs and in some cases year-round jobs."

A rendering of the launch ramp and bar planned for the new Woodward Sydney facility set to open in ... [+] late 2024

The Sydney expansion is not the only news coming out of Woodward. The company, which is part of the POWDR portfolio, also plans to renovate existing facilities at Woodward Pennsylvania and Woodward West.

That renovation design is being helmed by Steve Swope, a freestyle BMX veteran and the vice president of innovative environments at Woodward. The facilities will expand to include learning areas with ramps, pump tracks, airbags, foam pits, trampolines and spring floors. Facilities for parkour, climbing and bouldering will also be upgraded.

And while Woodward Sydney will be the company's first facility outside the lower 48, it won't be the last. The company is next eyeing an expansion "just north of the lower 48," Gunnarson said, with a focus on being the global leader in action sports experiences.

"This won't be the last you’ve heard about that effort to move forward on urban centers in different locations around the world and more densely populated areas," Gunnarson said. "It all falls into our mission to grow action sports, grow participation and interests and do it in all the right ways."