From the Washington Post:
"There’s a lot of phrases one could use to describe Central Florida, but snowboarding mecca isn’t one of them. Or rather it hasn’t been one of them until now. That’s thanks to a company named Xero Gravity Action Sports, which unveiled its plans on Wednesday to build a $309 million extreme sports-themed resort near Kissimmee, the Orlando Business Journal reports. Along with a luxury hotel, the resort is set to include a “14-story ski and snowboard mountain with nine snow tubing lanes,” as well as a “snowball fight arena.” A whole arena! Hey, if Dubai can have a winter resort in the desert, there’s no reason Kissimmee can’t have one in the wetlands…
The resort, according to the company’s statement (via OBJ), will also feature attractions for warm-weather-loving extreme athletes, as well, including:
A five acre surf pool with up to 10-foot waves
A boogie boarding area
A 25,000-square-foot indoor/outdoor skateboard park
A USA-BMX sanctioned race track
Two skydiving pods
A 20,000-square-foot indoor dodge-ball trampoline arena;
A rapid river
A 140-foot rock-climbing
Zip-lining throughout the park
Two 14-story waterslides
Jump zones offering 20-to-120-foot free falls
An interactive four-story climbing/zipline/ropes challenge course
The behemoth resort still needs to be approved by Osceola County officials, but if it’s okayed, Xero officials expect the resort to open by 2018.
“Our company is creating the next step in the tourism sports industry,” the company’s founder and chief executive Larry Walshaw said (via OBJ). “We are developing a one-of-a-kind sports and entertainment resort which provides unique hands-on experiences. We will be hosting televised pro and amateur competitions, think X-games, with sports shows and clinics, and we will have daily competitions at all venues for visitors who like to compete.”"