Commercial

Snowdome projects are not for the faint-hearted.  They are expensive to build and expensive to operate. Many snowdomes have failed or have not delivered an adequate return on capital and have been scrapped.

But that does not mean that it is not possible to operate a snow dome profitably - even in an area of modest population.  Success demands imagination and strong marketing.

Energy costs are one of the highest operating expenses.  All the systems need to be kept cool enough, 24 hours a day, to stop the snow from melting away. Although some can operate in temperatures above freezing, even these will gradually lose snow depending on the temperature. Keeping things cool can have a high cost.

The most advanced make use of the heat produced by the refrigeration process to heat adjoining leisure complexes, which sometimes include water parks. The trend in development is towards integrating domes as part of multi-shopping and leisure complexes as at the new Crystal Dome in Milton Keynes, England.

Snow domes are typically built in 'brown field' suburban sites with easy access to the road network. Projects are sometimes targeted on derelict urban areas helping to increase goodwill from nearby communities and government investors. A good example of this is Snow World, the third Dutch ski dome, which opened in December 1998, and was built on reclaimed land that was formerly a rubbish dump.

In terms of day-to-day operation of the domes, considerable logistical forethought is also required to ensure success. Most are open 15 to 18 hours per day, from dawn until the small hours, in order to maximise income potential. But operators need to try to spread out usage by avoiding a pile up of users at peak times (early evening and weekends) when the limited slopes can't provide enough space so selective marketing and pricing the slopes to attract users at the quiet times is key. Hiring slopes out for corporate events has also been a successful moneymaker.

Another reality that indoor ski slopes have to deal with is that they can become a bit boring for good skiers after a few visits, so events and activities are required to provide variety if regular visitation is to be achieved. Children and first timers are more likely to make repeat visits.

The growth of snowboarding has been a boon to the domes, as terrain features allow snowboarders to practice technique over and over again in the same small area. In Japan several domes have become 'boarding only' venues to attract customers and have permanent half pipes. In Europe several domes have snowboarding-only periods and encourage a party atmosphere at late night events such as the 'Fresh Nights' experience at England's first major dome at Tamworth.

The bottom line is that snowdomes are like any other capital-intensive liesure business.  The technology provides the foundation, but it is an undertanding how how to give people a good time that makes the project a success.