The Artist Formerly Known As "Xanadu Meadowlands"

I don't know how many of you have been following this story over the past eight years, but the troubled Xanadu Meadowlands -- of interest to skiers because of the the first indoor Ski Dome in North America -- has been rebranded as, ready for this, American Dream Meadowlands.

Two days ago, my wife was a participant in a focus group that was trying to gauge which type of people would consider patronizing the complex when finished. Apparently, the study was financed by the London-based luxury department store Harrods, which is thinking about establishing a U.S. beachhead as the anchor retail tenant at American Dream Meadowlands. Everyone in attendance (culled from the tri-state area) replied that they would only check it out once out of curiosity, but that there were simply too many other retail, cultural, entertainment, and restaurant diversions in the region to make it worth their while. Some felt that it may have interest as a "staycation" spot or something for tourists to visit on their way back to Newark Airport.

Would any of you pay to ski there during the off-season?

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I am 14 miles north of the Meadowlands. I would try the skiing once just to do it. I doubt I would do it a second time. As for shopping - the Seacaucus/Meadowlands is chock full of shopping. People are used to shopping in the area. I have no doubt that it would draw shoppers. There is a train that runs to the Meadowlands for NFL games. If they ever run that on a regular schedule they will be able to tap the huge density of Manhattan and all the other lines(Metro North, LIRR, NJT) in the NY metro area. This is why the place was built in the first place. There is talk of extending NYC subway to the Seacaucus train station. This would make the trip out of NYC even easier.

With the right mix of stores the shopping could work. As for the skiing, who knows?

Jamesdeluxe wrote

Two days ago, my wife was a participant in a focus group that was trying to gauge which type of people would consider patronizing the complex when finished. Apparently, the study was financed by the London-based luxury department store Harrods, which is thinking about establishing a U.S. beachhead as the anchor retail tenant at American Dream Meadowlands. Everyone in attendance (culled from the tri-state area) replied that they would only check it out once out of curiosity, but that there were simply too many other retail, cultural, entertainment, and restaurant diversions in the region to make it worth their while. Some felt that it may have interest as a "staycation" spot or something for tourists to visit on their way back to Newark Airport.

Talk about a dinosaur from the go go easy credit years of the early decade years when commercial real estate saturated the world, too. I lived a few miles from there for a year recently (shudder, I still have nightmares). The only time that place will be full is on Sunday, when the Paramus blue laws keep the FOUR, COUNT THEM, FOUR major malls right down the road closed. But, then they'll just drop those laws, right? And now we'll have FIVE major malls within a ten mile radius open on Sunday. Good lord.

I call it the Mall That's Too Big To Fail. Christie got handed that bag of s*** after he was elected, and decided it was better to continue with the stupidity instead of bulldozing it. Thanks, Gov.. The world will be such a better place when and if it's ever finished. Thank God I don't live in that state anymore.

I'm sorry, I would probably have to go ski there at least twice during the summer. You know, those times when you think you're going to DIE if you don't ski..and it's only July.

jimvdak wrote

I'm sorry, I would probably have to go ski there at least twice during the summer. You know, those times when you think you're going to DIE if you don't ski..and it's only July.

agree and I'd have to drive to NJ to do it

it really depends on the quality of the skiing - I don't know anyone that has skied in these things so i don't know if its worthwhile or not but if it was august and I was on the edge of facing another snowless 3 months who knows as long as they installed a metal detector to keep the Huntah types who are packing heat out

Would I pay? Yeah sure. Maybe even 50 bucks.

But I'd be hard pressed to drive up there to do it.

Is that real snow in there? Or like a plastic substitute?

If it had moguls and no lines and was 10 minutes from my house I'd buy a season pass and use it as my work out.  

I'd be ready to rock on "outdoor" opening day.

Everybody knows the real happening indoor ski scene is in Dubai:



They got "trees."  

Yep it's real snow..Those places are real energy hogs. Must cost a fortune to run too..

I might do it once, It can't be fun dragging all your gear there on a 95 deg day..
If it had bumps it could be fun, I bet skiing 75 vertical feet must get old real fast..

here's a article on indoor skiing..kind of cool

http://blog.hotelclub.com/worlds-top-5-indoor-ski-resorts/

That's the dumbest thing since night baseball.

I'd do it once just out of curiosity but that would probably be it.  I imagine it will probably be overrun with kids 90% of the time.  Don't get me wrong, I love kids but I've been skiing more than once on a mountain swarming with undisciplined, manner-less kids and it was not fun.

Benny Profane wrote

 The only time that place will be full is on Sunday, when the Paramus blue laws keep the FOUR, COUNT THEM, FOUR major malls right down the road closed. But, then they'll just drop those laws, right? And now we'll have FIVE major malls within a ten mile radius open on Sunday. Good lord.

I call it the Mall That's Too Big To Fail. Christie got handed that bag of s*** after he was elected, and decided it was better to continue with the stupidity instead of bulldozing it. Thanks, Gov.. The world will be such a better place when and if it's ever finished. Thank God I don't live in that state anymore.

Problem is that Xanadu is in Bergen county too so it will in theory not be open on Sunday's either (for shopping).  I might hit it up once or twice in the summer but other than that no way.  It will end up being too crowded and too much of a PIA just like doing anything else is around these parts.  I see that thing every day when I am riding the train.  All I think about is some Tony Soprano type saying "Not only are we going to rob the taxpayers of NJ to build this thing, we are going to make it the ugliest eyesore anyone has ever seen.  JUST-BECAUSE-WE-CAN".  To me no other explanation makes sense.

Just saw this... it reminded me to check on the outdoor, artificial turf skiing that’s supposedly happening in ct. the meadowlands are a lot closer to home though.

http://www.njfamily.com/The-First-Indoor-Snow-Park-in-North-America-Is-Coming-to-NJ-Yes-Really/

I could see this sort of thing working in a place like Park City where you have young people training for WC or the Olympics. You’d have to have a moguls course and a terrain park though.

But the Meadowlands? Maybe they can survive on one time visitors that check it out as a novelty but other than that there probably isn’t much of a market. I mean, the idea of driving there to ski indoors on a humid summer day just sounds depressing.

I think once it’s open I might go once to check it out- hard to imagine it would be fun enough to repeat but I’ll keep an open mind and report back.

How much vert does 16 stories add up to anyway? Less then 200?

Brownski wrote

Just saw this... it reminded me to check on the outdoor, artificial turf skiing that’s supposedly happening in ct. the meadowlands are a lot closer to home though.

http://www.njfamily.com/The-First-Indoor-Snow-Park-in-North-America-Is-Coming-to-NJ-Yes-Really/

The name changed to American Dream when the Canadian company took over several years ago.  That company built, owns, and operates the Mall of America and the even bigger indoor shopping and adventure land in Edmonton, the middle of Canada.  Big SNOW is one of several huge recreational activities that will be in the American Dream complex.  The others include an full-size ice skating rink, a water park, mini-golf, as well as LEGOLand and an aquarium.  The ideal is to attract both domestic and international tourists.  I would guess that local families (<1 hr drive) aren't likely to go there except for special occasions like a birthday party.

It's not skiing on plastic like at Powder Ridge in CT or Liberty in VA.  Big SNOW is like the set up in Dubai.  The building is big enough that they will have snowmaking.  More like the indoor snow slopes in the UK.

SNOW Operating is the consulting company that's been helping ski resorts like Killington, Snowshoe, and W-B re-organize their rental process and ski/board schools to make them much more newbie friendly, including implementing Terrain Based Learning (TM) with features built to make it easier for a never-ever to actually have fun making turns in the first hour or so.  That will make a huge difference for how Big SNOW is set up.  Meaning it won't be set up by a company making it up as the go along.  SNOW Operating was founded by senior managers at Mountain Creek, and have recently taken over operations.  They know the NJ/NYC market well.

* * * from article
“It’ll offer year-round, real-snow skiing and snowboarding all within a constant climate-controlled environment,” Hugh Reynolds, VP of marketing and sales for SNOW Operating, told New Jersey Family. Snow Operating is dedicated to growing interest in skiing and snowboarding at more than 40 resorts around the world, including Vernon’s Mountain Creek and, of course, Big SNOW America.

An indoor snow park and chalet, Big SNOW will have something for all ages and skill levels, though the focus is on getting first-timers comfortable on the snow, says Reynolds. “Many of the American Dream guests will be coming from areas that don’t have snow, or visiting in the warm months when snow is typically inaccessible in the outdoor environment,” says Reynolds. “Our plan is to give guests everything they need to have their first ski or snowboard experience, so they can arrive in flip-flops and shorts and we provide all the clothing and gear they need to enjoy a day on snow.”
* * *

Brownski wrote

Just saw this... it reminded me to check on the outdoor, artificial turf skiing that’s supposedly happening in ct. the meadowlands are a lot closer to home though.

Would you be interested in what I learned stopping by Powder Ridge last fall?  Have a few pics.  Was interesting to compare to Liberty, where I skied last summer for an hour . . . in 90 degree heat.

Brownski wrote

How much vert does 16 stories add up to anyway? Less then 200?

Not sure how many stories the Dubai mall that has skiing is, but supposedly the vertical is 279 ft (85m).

For comparison, the vertical at Wilmot is just under 200 ft.  That's the third ski area that Vail Resorts bought in the midwest.  Wilmot is an hour from Chicago.  VR invested $13 million in major upgrades after the purchase in 2016.  I bet they sold a lot of Epic passes that first season.

Since SNOW Operating is running Mountain Creek, I would guess they will try to figure out a way to pull in some newbies who give skiing or boarding a try at Big SNOW.  I noticed that there will be clothing to rent, as well as the usual rental gear.  If it really opens on March 1, there will still be a few weeks left to the ski season in the northeast.

marznc wrote

Would you be interested in what I learned stopping by Powder Ridge last fall?  Have a few pics.  Was interesting to compare to Liberty, where I skied last summer for an hour . . . in 90 degree heat.

I’d be interested. I’ve never tried out any of these summer places but I’d be curious what it’s really like

Dear lord.