Big Snow American Dream Explained

Big Snow American Dream
Location:Meadowlands Sports Complex,
East Rutherford, New Jersey
Nearest City:New York City
Coordinates:40.8111°N -74.07°W
Status:Operating
Owner:Snow Operating
Number Trails:3
Longest Run:Switchback – 1000feet
Liftsystem:4 total (1 quad lift, 1 Poma,
2 magic carpets)
Terrainparks:Yes
Snowmaking:Yes

Big Snow American Dream is an indoor skiing and snowboarding park within the American Dream shopping and entertainment complex, at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, that opened on December 5, 2019.[1]

Big Snow American Dream is the first indoor ski park in North America.[2] [3] It is owned by the Triple Five Group and is operated by Snow Operating who also run Mountain Creek Resort.[4]

History

The American Dream shopping mall was first proposed as Meadowlands Mills in 1994.[5] The mall, later renamed Meadowlands Xanadu, was nearly complete in 2009 when construction stopped due to a lack of funding.[6] The original plans for the mall had included an indoor ski slope, which was advertised as the United States' first indoor Alpine ski resort.[7] On February 1, 2011, following a month of heavy snowfall, observers found that 50to of the slope's eastern wall had been damaged, and a horizontal crease had formed on the wall.[8] Two days later, as workers tried to melt the snow on the ski slope's roof, about 150adj=-1adj= of the eastern wall had collapsed under the weight of the snowfall accumulation.[9] [10]

In May 2011, the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority formalized an agreement with Triple Five Group, which assumed ownership of the mall and renamed it "American Dream". The ski slope would continue to be built as part of the agreement.[11] [12] The ski slope was rebranded "Big Snow" in 2015.[13]

In 2018, Triple Five announced that the ski slope would open the following December as part of the mall's phased opening, which would take place between 2019 and 2020.[11] In advance of the opening, Big Snow hired 300 workers.[14] On December 5, 2019, Big Snow American Dream opened with an event attended by skiers and snowboarders such as Donna Weinbrecht, Lindsey Vonn, Red Gerard, and Ben Ferguson.[15] [16] [17] The opening of a portion of Big Snow was delayed until the following week.

In the early hours of September 25, 2021, part of the ski slope caught on fire. However, there were no reported injuries.[18] Big Snow reopened on May 27, 2022, eight months after the incident.[19]

Attractions

The 4NaN park is covered with 5,500 tons of snow, packed to a depth of 2feet and is open year-round. There are three trails: a beginner trail called "Lil' Dipper", an intermediate trail called "Switchback", and an advanced trail called "Northern Lights". There is also a terrain park.[20] The trails are served by four lifts: two carpet lifts serving the Lil Dipper, and a quad chairlift and platter surface lift serving Northern Lights and Switchback. Both lifts were manufactured by Doppelmayr-CTEC in 2008. The slopes are 1000feet long, covering an altitude of 160feet with a maximum pitch of 26%.[21]

Its climate-controlled environment is at a consistent 28F. Guests are able to get skiing and snowboarding lessons.[22] To prevent overcrowding, guests book tickets for time slots in advance.

The park also has a gourmet hot chocolate shop called Joe C's Hot Cocoa.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Trail map for American Dream mall's ski park shows what it will look like inside . Pries. Allison. November 26, 2019. NJ.com. en. November 28, 2019.
  2. Web site: American Dream's huge indoor ski slope is hiring 300 workers. Pries. Allison. November 7, 2019. nj. en. December 2, 2019.
  3. Web site: Big Snow American Dream Opening . 2019. skitheworld.com. en. November 28, 2019.
  4. Web site: 16-story indoor ski slope at American Dream opens soon. Here's what it'll cost you. . Pries. Alison. October 11, 2019. NJ.com. en. November 28, 2019.
  5. Hendry, Cheryl Ann. "Finding Nature in an Industrial Swamp: A Case Study of New Jersey's Hackensack Meadowlands", p. 196, Montana State University, 2017.
  6. News: Xanadu, a New Jersey Mall, May Be Too Big to Fail. Pristin. Terry. May 19, 2009. The New York Times. November 23, 2019. en-US. 0362-4331.
  7. Web site: More than 17 years in the making, American Dream megamall's story was shaped by retail's upheaval. Thomas. Lauren. October 22, 2019. CNBC. en. November 28, 2019.
  8. Web site: Ice buildup causes wall to buckle at Xanadu's snow dome - NorthJersey.com. Brennan. John. February 5, 2011. northjersey.com. unfit. https://web.archive.org/web/20110205123351/http://www.northjersey.com/news/020311_Ice_buildup_causes_wall_to_buckle_at_Xanadus_snow_dome.html. February 5, 2011. November 28, 2019.
  9. Web site: Protective wall, roof damaged at Xanadu ski dome. Lamendola. Michael. February 10, 2011. NorthJersey.com. unfit. https://web.archive.org/web/20150330054710/http://www.northjersey.com/news/ski-dome-gives-way-to-heavy-ice-and-snow-1.223462. March 30, 2015. November 28, 2019.
  10. Web site: Does America Need Another Giant Mall?. Hurley. Amanda Kolson. October 9, 2015. The Atlantic. November 28, 2019.
  11. News: See the progress on the American Dream water park, now taking shape. Katzban, Nicholas. November 12, 2018. March 9, 2019. NorthJersey.com. en.
  12. Web site: Xanadu mall project to get new name, big expansion. Henry, Samantha. May 3, 2011. March 17, 2019. New Jersey Herald.
  13. Web site: Explainer: American Dream Starting to Come True in the Meadowlands?. Stainton. Lilo H.. September 22, 2015. NJ Spotlight. November 28, 2019.
  14. Web site: American Dream's Big Snow hiring 300 people. Porpora. Tracey. November 7, 2019. silive. en. November 28, 2019.
  15. Web site: Indoor ski slope at American Dream is open. Here's a first look inside.. Pries. Allison. December 5, 2019. nj.com. en-US. December 6, 2019.
  16. Web site: Grand opening: Big SNOW American Dream to open to public today at American Dream. newjersey.news12.com. en. December 5, 2019.
  17. Web site: 'The snow is perfect:' Indoor ski slope opens at American Dream. December 5, 2019. North Jersey. en. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20191206084444/https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/bergen/east-rutherford/2019/12/05/american-dream-big-snow-indoor-ski-slope-opens-meadowlands/2612578001/ . December 6, 2019 . December 6, 2019.
  18. Web site: NJ.com. Ted Sherman NJ Advance Media for. NJ.com. Josh Solomon NJ Advance Media for. September 25, 2021. Fire breaks out at the American Dream mall ski slope, but no injuries reported. January 7, 2022. nj. en.
  19. Web site: Munoz . Daniel . American Dream's Big Snow indoor ski slope reopens, eight months after fire . January 18, 2023 . North Jersey Media Group . en-US.
  20. Web site: Here's The Trail Map For American Dream's Indoor Ski Park. November 26, 2019. Wyckoff, NJ Patch. en. November 28, 2019.
  21. Web site: Big Snow American Dream, NJ. December 5, 2019.
  22. Web site: Heres The Trail Map For American Dreams Indoor Ski Park. Redmond. Kemberly. November 26, 2019. patch.com. en. November 27, 2019.

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