Go surfing and skydiving at 1Utama

AirRider trainers performing a skydiving demo during the AirRider launch.

What if you can do more than just walking around in a shopping mall, like soaring in the air or catching the waves? At the 1 Utama Shopping Centre, you now can.

The mall introduced two new attractions, the FlowRider surf centre and the AirRider indoor skydiving, giving visitors even more choices of lifestyle features under one roof.

The first-ever Double FlowRider to be installed in a Malaysian shopping centre, the device is a simulated wave generator featuring sheet wave technology for the sport of flowboarding, bodyboarding and surfing.

For a taste of skydiving without safety concerns, AirRider brings the simulated skydiving experience with its indoor skydiving wind tunnel, and is the first to be introduced in a shopping mall in the Asia Pacific.

The attractions are part of the newly launched 1 Utama E, a RM150mil extension of the mall that is set to become a multisport and entertainment venue.

FlowRider manager Alfian Affandi demonstrates the hybrid boadsport of flowboarding, which combines the techniques of surfing, snowboarding, skateboarding, wakeboarding and skimboarding, during the launch of FlowRider.

With an additional 592,015sq ft gross built-up, of which 164,687sq ft are net lettable, the area is not only home to the FlowRider and AirRider, but come 2019, it will also house restaurants, cafes, bars and bistros, curated retail and specialty lifestyle shops, a collective living space, a family entertainment centre as well as a sports tourism centre.

During the launch, 1 Utama Shopping Centre director Tan Sri Teo Chiang Kok said 1 Utama E aims to develop the mall into a venue with tourism opportunities to attract local and foreign visitors.

“It is positioned as a ‘world-class sports tourism destination’ and ‘entertainment lifestyle esplanade’.

“It’s name, referenced by an E, which stands for Excite, Entertain and Exhilarate, is how you will feel when experiencing the two new sports facilities,” he expressed.

As more shops and services will be unveiled under phase two, Teo said 1 Utama E would add a designer landscape and avant-garde retail space seamlessly to 1 Utama once it was completed.

“It is then that shoppers can chill and indulge in a varied mix of sports, global cuisine, fashion brands, art and culture, entertainment and nightlife,” he added.

1 Utama E will have three levels of basement carparks with direct access ramp off the Lebuh Bandar Utama, as well as via Dataran Bandar Utama and Persiaran Bandar Utama.

It will be directly connected to Gate B of the Bandar Utama MRT station, while connecting links will be available on all floors for seamless shopper access.