REGION 4
CONSTRUCTION ON SNOW PARK CLOSE TO COMPLETION
By: Brian Meyer

Spring may have sprung, and summer may be right around the corner, but carpenters in Niagara Falls, NY are already starting to feel the chill of Old Man Winter as they continue work on Snow Park, an outdoor winter themed fun center that is open all year long. Construction began on the attraction in the fall of 2008, and is set to be finished for the Grand Opening in mid-June. The site will feature a multi-lane tubing hill, NHL size skating rink, and a general snow play area.

A Local 289 Carpenter cuts wood using a circular saw and jig.

Western New York has never been a stranger to snow, but despite what the rest of the world says, the white stuff in June is next to impossible. Snow Park, however, will be recreating the look and feel of snow and ice using state of the art technology that has already become extremely popular in Europe and Asia. The tubing hill will use Snowflex®, a high performance synthetic system that has been called the closest replication of snow in the past 50 years. Snowflex® can be used anywhere all four seasons, and is even safer than natural snow since it is softer and doesn’t pack down.

The outdoor skating rink will use Super-Glide®. The technology behind Super-Glide® synthetic ice-skating surfaces far exceeds the limits of older artificial ice compounds invented in the late 1960s. Since 2007, Super-Glide® synthetic ice has offered extremely low friction surfaces to skaters, resulting in synthetic ice skating virtually identical to the feel of water-based ice.

The snow play area will feature SnowMagic®. SnowMagic Entertainment USA, Inc. uses a technology originally developed and patented by Piste Snow Industries Co., Ltd. of Japan. In 1993, SnowMagic manufactured the world's first temperature-independent snow creating system called ICS™. The ICS system freezes water to create tiny snow crystals. Utilizing controlled and cooled forced air technology, the snow crystals are blown out with explosive force, and with an average micron size of 0.3 millimeters. Snow Park is already feeling the excitement and buzz around the area. Even though Snow Park is expected to be extremely popular amongst tourists to the Niagara Falls area, locals are already planning their first trip. Sue Williams, a local hockey player, has already bought her tickets online. “I’m just a winter sports kind of girl. Whether it’s hockey, skiing, tubing, or even just skating, I love it.”
Local 289 Carpenters construct a multi-lane tubing hill, an NHL size skating rink, and a general snow play area in Niagara Falls, New York.

When asked what she’s most looking forward to about the unique attraction, Williams said, “Hitting the ice in a tank top. It just seems kind of weird. [laughs] When I go to the rink, I normally have to plan on staying warm. Now, I have to worry about remembering sun screen.”

Snow Park is set to open June 20th in Niagara Falls, NY.