Olympian evaluates white-water rafting potential in St. Charles

Two men with expertise in building projects that create a theme to drive the economy of an entire community came to St. Charles Thursday with a message: St. Charles is the right place, and supporters are picking the right time to transform the city into a water sports destination for the region.

The city's active river community chose a team of experts after interviews in January to bring the vision for white-water rafting, surfing, rowing and other water-based entertainment to St. Charles' portion of the Fox River. The key members of that team are Scott Shipley, a three-time Olympian and world champion kayaker, and Richard Hitchcock, who played a major role in developing Naperville's Riverwalk. The pair spent Thursday meeting with the active river committee and city officials to discuss the next steps for transforming the river.

While touring the river, Shipley said he understands people don't look at the Fox River and think about rafting and surfing. It's part of his job to change that thinking.

"You don't realize that if the people had access, how many of them would go down and sit by it today?" Shipley said. "How many would put their hand in it and have a birthday part next to it? Right now you look at it and say this is impossible here. But when it's done, you'll look at it and you'll say this is the only logical thing, and why didn't we do this 20 years ago. There's some kid in here that doesn't know it yet, but he likes to surf. And he will surf when you build this."

Shipley said the river has the right angles and speed to create a river rafting course that would be a big draw for fans in the suburbs, city and region. He has experience creating exactly those kinds of courses around the globe, including parks in Oklahoma City and Rio Vista, Texas.

While Shipley has the global view and water expertise, Hitchcock brings a local know-how and comprehensive planning aspect to the table. He said St. Charles is lacking what Naperville and other communities with robust economies have - a central reason to come to town and the supporting retail, restaurants and entertainment to keep them there and coming back. There is no theme, he said.

"St. Charles has all these great things, but they are not talking to each other quite right," Hitchcock said. "You need something that will pull everything together."

But the main obstacle isn't the desire or the water - it's the money. There's no overall dollar figure for the project, but there's no doubt the price tag will be high. High price tags create hesitation and doubt.

Hitchcock and Shipley said they haven't met a project yet that didn't have those same funding fears.

"The Riverwalk in Naperville started in 1980, in one of the worst economies we've seen, and we found $1 million in private funding in a community of 40,000 people," Hitchcock said. "It's doable. The key is the next three years. Keep your eyes on that prize. When people want the big number, and you tell them, they just drop over dead. It took the recession to make the Riverwalk happen. And now recently our economy flatlined again. That can be the impetus for this.

"People look at the Naperville Riverwalk and just assume it's been there forever. Thirty-four years ago, that river was inaccessible. It was unattractive. Now it's a sensation. People can't imagine being without it, but for most of the city's history it wasn't there."

The active river committee's John Rabchuk said his team is already beginning the process of finding funding. The concentration will be on federal grants and private dollars. He points to the RiverEdge Park in Aurora as a recent example of successful private funding efforts. The committee just completed a local focus group to get input from local stakeholders and residents. There will be another opportunity for a focus group in July.