A multi-million pound snow dome is being planned for Middlesbrough, The Gazette can reveal.
Middlesbrough Mayor Ray Mallon has held talks with developers to bring a facility to the town, with Middlehaven cited as a potential site.
It is hoped the development could generate up to 200 jobs.
There are six snow domes across the UK, with the nearest being Xscape at Castleford near Leeds, but Middlesbrough's would be the first in the North-east.
Snow domes have indoor slopes for snowboarding and skiing as well as numerous cafes and restaurants, shops and leisure facilities such as a cinema, a bowling alley and laser quest.
Mr Mallon said Middlesbrough needed something “completely different” to bring more people into the town to boost local economy.
“In my own view we need a centrepiece for Middlehaven which is completely different and a snow dome is certainly that,” he said.
“A snow dome would attract other leisure facilities and they’re a people attraction.
“I have often stated that we have over 650,000 people residing in the Tees area but 7.5 million who reside 1.5 hours away from this location.
“The trick is to make Middlesbrough a destination place to attract those 7.5 million people.
“The people of Middlesbrough are important, but they alone will not sustain the town economically.”
He said Middlehaven is making “good progress” and new development had a “domino effect” attracting other businesses too.
The talks come after Middlesbrough Council this week gave approval for a new £4.6m swing bridge at Middlehaven.
“Middlehaven is making good progress when we look at some of the builds that have occurred and there are other projects in the pipeline with some already having planning permission such as the relocation of Sainsbury’s supermarket,” he said.
“As a result of the new Sainsbury’s other retail outlets will link in to that location and has resulted in the swing bridge coming forward.
“The swing bridge will also create other opportunities on the Middlehaven site.”
Mr Mallon has been in talks with developers regarding the snow dome for three to four months and talks are continuing.
As it is at the very early stages, there have been no indications of how much the project will cost and who will fund it.
“I believe the snow dome has merit and we intend to explore this possibility extensively.”
There are six snow domes in the UK: Castleford near Leeds, Trafford Centre at Manchester, Hemel Hempstead in London, Milton Keynes, Braehead in Glasgow and Tamworth.
At Castleford, an hour in the snow zone at peak times costs £23.99 for adults and £19.99 for juniors. Off peak costs £17.99 for adults and £14.99 for juniors.
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