A render showing the $400m indoor snow resort now approved for construction in Penrith, Sydney. Photo / Winter Sports World
A render showing the $400m indoor snow resort now approved for construction in Penrith, Sydney. Photo / Winter Sports World
After eight years of planning, construction is set to begin on Australia’s first indoor ski resort, which will bring a snow field to Sydney that can operate for 365 days a year.
The development, named Winter Sports World (WSW), has been coined “the Giant Esky” and will be home to a 300m ski run, an ice rink, thermal pools, a snow play area and facilities for ice climbing. Visitors will be tempted to extend their stay with a range of restaurants, conference and function rooms, and a 4.5-star hotel with 170 rooms included in the complex.
Its stakeholders are confident the new resort can attract global snow sports stars, promising Olympic-grade training facilities for various types of snow sports.
On Thursday, WSW announced its plan to build the winter resort complex on a 2ha site in Penrith, 55km west of Sydney, had been given the green light by the NSW Department of Planning and Environment.
The development is expected to provide a significant economic boost to Western Sydney, generating around 1350 construction jobs and another 1350 permanent jobs, and contributing around $220 million a year to the local economy.
The mammoth complex is set to offer a range of facilities catering to snow sports stars first-time skiers, and everyone in between. Photo / Winter Sports World
Despite facing a prolonged planning phase that began eight years ago, the project’s developers have been steadfast in ensuring their plans come to fruition.
A State Significant Development Application was originally submitted to the NSW Department of Planning and Environment in June 2018 by WSW managing director Peter Magnisalis.
He said receiving development approval for the mammoth $400m indoor snow resort came as “a huge relief”.
“For the first time in eight years, WSW is no longer a pie-in-the-sky dream, but a real project and on course to bring snow fields to Sydney,” said Magnisalis.
“It has been all-consuming for me personally for years now and will continue to be. I can’t wait to get it built.”
In an interview on Today, Magnisalis noted the resort’s admission price would be “quite affordable” for visitors.
“We haven’t worked all that out yet, but our vision is for it to be affordable for everyone [from] all walks of life.”
The project must have a few more hurdles before breaking ground for construction can begin.
The Penrith site must undergo complex design and engineering work first to put in supporting infrastructure and prepare for the foundations, while a global hunt for contractors and suppliers will begin to secure the materials, resources and labour needed for such a unique development.
This involves finding a construction company to oversee the development, securing snow-making machines and ski lifts, establishing restaurant and hotel operators, and sourcing designers and artists for the resort’s finer details.
A nighttime render showing the $400m indoor snow resort now approved for construction in Penrith, Sydney. Photo / Winter Sports World
“So we need to take the time [during] this crucial preparation stage to ensure we get the project right before it can start to rise above the ground,” said Magnisalis.
“This project will definitely be a global enterprise,” he noted.
“Our goal is for WSW to have the best-quality snow in the world for an indoor snow resort.”
The indoor snow resort has been designed by Sydney-based architecture firm Collins & Turner and is inspired by the cold, aiming to reflect the appearance of a blizzard by day and tell the story of melting ice from the mountains at night through its “ice shard” façade.
WSW also plans to operate as a net-zero carbon facility, with plans in place to reduce emissions during construction and when it’s fully operating.
These include nullifying the on-site use of fossil fuels, establishing on-site renewable and green energy sources and using carbon offsetting for the remaining emissions.
