First tracks for Aussie ski field
A $400m indoor winter resort is to be built in one of the country’s hottest regions
After eight years of planning, construction is 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.
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. Restaurants, conference and function rooms, and a 4.5-star hotel with 170 rooms will tempt visitors to extend their stay.
Stakeholders are confident the new resort can attract global snow sports stars, promising Olympic-grade training facilities for snow sports.
On January 11, WSW announced that 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.
WSW managing director Peter Magnisalis said receiving development approval for the $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,” he said. In an interview on
Today, Magnisalis said 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.”
Before breaking ground for construction can begin the Penrith site must undergo complex design and engineering work 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.
This involves finding a construction company to oversee the development, securing snowmaking machines and ski lifts, establishing restaurant and hotel operators, and sourcing designers and artists for the resort’s finer details.
“Our goal is for WSW to have the bestquality snow in the world for an indoor snow resort,” said Magnisalis.
The indoor snow resort has been designed by Sydney-based architecture firm Collins and 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” facade.
WSW 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.