Mini-snow park set to open in Surfers Paradise next month with materials arriving for park

SURFERS Paradise is set to become Australia’s latest ski destination in the next month, despite high temperatures and sweltering conditions.

Matt McCulloch with some of the plastic snow which will help build the Surfers Paradise ski park. Picture: Glenn Hampson

SURFERS Paradise is set to become Australia’s latest ski destination in the next month, despite high temperatures and sweltering conditions.

Materials to build an all-weather outdoor snow park in Ferny Avenue have arrived after months of locals’ anticipation of an artificial snow park.

Now the materials have arrived from Europe, it is estimated it will take two weeks to transform the empty block into a go-kart track, tubby slide, freestyle ski ramps and a 12m high airbag jump.

An artist impression of the proposed artificial Snow Park slated for Gaven which will be built after the smaller park is operational.

Snow Park Australia general manager Matt McCulloch said technicians would arrive next week to install the Neveplast, a plastic that imitates and is said to be as slippery as snow.

“We wanted to get open for the Christmas holidays but that did not happen,” Mr McCulloch said.

“Our main goal has been to be open well before the Commonwealth Games.”

The material arrived in Australia before Christmas but was not released by Customs until this week.

Neveplast material comes in large tile-like slabs and is laid in a similar fashion to carpet.

Mr McCulloch said the ease of putting it together meant the park would be operational early next month.

Matt McCulloch said it will only take about two weeks to build the ski park now the materials have arrived. Picture: Glenn Hampson

“We are hoping to get it up and running before the Commonwealth Games to help show there is more to the Gold Coast than just the beach,” Mr McCulloch said.

Entry fees would start at $3, with total cost depending on which parts of the park were used.

Mr McCulloch said a larger park including a series of ski jumps was being planned. It was expected construction of that would start by the end of the year.