Western Sydney is getting a massive $700 million indoor snow resort

• Winter Sports World is an ambitious $700 million indoor snow resort aiming to mirror the success of places like Ski Dubai.
• Sustainability initiatives have been described, with a stated goal of zero-net carbon rating for all spaces, including the hotel.
• Building on the project has become with an end-goal of 2028.
• READ MORE: What to eat, see and do on a day trip to Penrith.

For Sydneysiders who don’t regularly climb over to Perisher and Thredbo during ski season, it’s easy to forget snow exists. We get none of the fluffy stuff out this way, so anyone would be shocked to hear you suggest heading out to Penrith for some snowsports.

But they won’t be after until the arrival of Winter Sports World, a massive $700 million indoor sports resort that’s carving out a 2.4-hectare block of land by the Nepean River.

When founder Peter Magnisalis had the idea to build, as this Forbes put it, “a building with snow in it,” he apparently had no idea indoor snowsports centres even exists. They aren’t overly common, but you’ll from around 100 of them scattered around the world, the most famous ones being Ski Dubai and AlpinCentre in Germany. China has three of the biggest ones, as well. The precident is most certainly there, but to put it out in Penrith does seem like an interesting choice.

Winter Sports Well only started construction in the past few months, with plans to open to the public by 2028. That’s the target date for the full venue, including the 300-metre indoor ski slope, spaces for other winter sports like ice hockey, speed skating and ice climbing, several restaurants including alpine-style cafes, and a 170-room hotel.

The project certainly aligns with the overarching goal of making western Sydney more vibrant and attractive for inbound visitors. Not only should it create around 2,700 ongoing tourism jobs, but Winter Sports World is expected to contribute up to $222 million to the NSW econony annually. Couple this with Western Sydney International Airport, which will be two years into operation by the time see visit Winter Sports World, and it’s looking like one of the biggest projects in the country right now.

Current modelling suggests that over 1 million visitors will enjoy Winter Sports World each year, which would make it one of Sydney’s major tourist attractions.

There’s every chance that figure could shoot up considerably, however, if transport between Sydney CBD and western Sydney improves. The Sydney Opera House currently receives over 10 million visitors per year. The Art Gallery of NSW typically gets just under 2 million, and similar numbers flow through to Carriageworks and Museum of Contemporary Art. Out west? The Blue Mountains attracts around 4 million people each year, and Penrith is the gateway to this region. I think 1 million is being modest.

Winter Sports World will include room for lesssons and practice runs in addition to the 350-metre advanced ski run. There’s a leisurely snow play area in the plans, conference facilities, a rooftop day spa with mountain views, and more. Magnisalis has gone on record to say that no chemical additives will be used for the sake snow, and he has tapped Scenic World to operate the ski field while numerous sustainability iniatives have been employed to ensure this isn’t a burden to the state’s power.

Speaking to Forbes, Magnisalis described how sustainable he plans to make Winter Sports World:

“For water, we will collect the condensation and defrost across the snowbox area and use that for snow making. That’ll look after most of our needs but there is a small defecit, about 60,000 litres a week, and we’ll use our 1.6-million-litre water tank connected to the roof for that.”

The ambitions are chasing a net zero-carbon rating. It seems unrealistic but plans are looking promising. In the snow box, Winter Sports World will install devices to capture heat at 65 degrees, using it to heat water for the rooms and restaurants.

As you can see from the renders, this is something Australia has never seen before.

Winter Sports World

Address: TBA
Contact: TBA
Opening Hours: TBA

Winter Sports World will open to the public sometime in 2018.