 Poster: A snowHead
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The North is well served for all types of skiing. The sport started here with the lead miners, 150years or so ago 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@chrisb, I think you will find that the total population of Scotland is somewhat below 7m and Snow Factor at Braehead is doing fine thanks - a few visitors from South of the border and even across the sea, but mainly the locals.[/b]
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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On a pedantic note...the Snowdome in question will be built near the River Tees, so will be on Teesside - as opposed to Teeside. 
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They are still supposed to be building on in Cardiff, next to the new ice rink, but I can't find any recent news on it.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| alex_heney wrote: |
But why would the catchment area for a Middlesborough snowdome be only "Teeside"?
I would expect it to include all of Durham and Northumberland and the towns and cities that would be part of those if they weren't separated out. Probably also parts of North Yorkshire would find that closer than Castleford.
I don't understand why people from Derby/Nottingham/Leicester use Castleford rather than Tamworth mind. |
I didn't say it would only be Teesside. You said that the catchment area of Castleford was way smaller than one in Middlesbrough ( 1 x o) and it really is the opposite. One should also add in disposable income, and that would not be a positive in the North East (especially Teesside)
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| chrisb wrote: |
| @alex_heney, The only snow dome in the country that is viable is Hemel. The rest run at a loss so I am led to understand. You need 7 million catchment to make them work, so the population is just not big enough for one in Middlesborough I would have thought |
I don't think that is true, although it is difficult with most of them to separate out the snowdome specific income and costs from teh centre as a whole.
But Tamworth made 2.3 million pre tax profit last year:
https://companycheck.co.uk/company/05672413/SNOWDOME-GROUP-LIMITED/financial-accounts
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| Frosty the Snowman wrote: |
| alex_heney wrote: |
But why would the catchment area for a Middlesborough snowdome be only "Teeside"?
I would expect it to include all of Durham and Northumberland and the towns and cities that would be part of those if they weren't separated out. Probably also parts of North Yorkshire would find that closer than Castleford.
I don't understand why people from Derby/Nottingham/Leicester use Castleford rather than Tamworth mind. |
I didn't say it would only be Teesside. You said that the catchment area of Castleford was way smaller than one in Middlesbrough ( 1 x o) and it really is the opposite. One should also add in disposable income, and that would not be a positive in the North East (especially Teesside) |
I know you didn't. I was actually responding to MarkyMark there, but somehow didn't quote it (which is very unlike me).
I must admit, I wasn't really thinking how far away from Castleford the catchment area might spread, I was thinking the main catchment would be people within 30-45 minutes, but if a large proportion of their customers are really travelling 2-3 times that far, then it makes a big difference - and much more so to Castleford than to Middlesborough.
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@foxtrotzulu, @RobW, too true!
Surely they could fit one in off the M3/M4 somewhere...
There do seem to be far more snow centres oop north.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Anything north of Winchester is north to me!!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@HoneyBunny, I'd head south.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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I usually do...
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Poster: A snowHead
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Have discussed the merits of a North East of England snow dome many times with friends and colleagues. Would be great to have and I know from friends there is a lot of foot fall at Castleford from NE England and even the Scottish Borders. The big thing though from any investor is foot fall and the potential of this from a 0-50 mile plus 360 degree radius from the facility. Any NE England dome whether it be Newcastle, Sunderland or Boro suffers from a near 180 degree 'hole' in potential foot fall. Then considering that the footfall needs to also have the expendable income to afford to use facilities and pay the higher prices that snow domes need to charge to stay open. Being part of a vibrant dry slope community in Sunderland, there has been a lot of work done to increase the accessibility of the sport by opening up free and subsidised tasters and lessons but even with considerably cheaper group lessons and great value for money private lessons, lots of families in the area demographic simply can't afford it.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| scottief wrote: |
| Have discussed the merits of a North East of England snow dome many times with friends and colleagues. Would be great to have and I know from friends there is a lot of foot fall at Castleford from NE England and even the Scottish Borders. The big thing though from any investor is foot fall and the potential of this from a 0-50 mile plus 360 degree radius from the facility. Any NE England dome whether it be Newcastle, Sunderland or Boro suffers from a near 180 degree 'hole' in potential foot fall. Then considering that the footfall needs to also have the expendable income to afford to use facilities and pay the higher prices that snow domes need to charge to stay open. Being part of a vibrant dry slope community in Sunderland, there has been a lot of work done to increase the accessibility of the sport by opening up free and subsidised tasters and lessons but even with considerably cheaper group lessons and great value for money private lessons, lots of families in the area demographic simply can't afford it. |
Could say the same for scotland? Theres is near to the coast and still manages to keep going.
Will probably be bad news for silksworth as the 'real' snow is far better than a old outdoor slope IMHO.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I don't disagree, Glasgow does appear to do OK and despite it being there, there are a few dry slopes too that are doing alright so I'd like to hope that Silky could survive. For some with the budget it would be a no brainer to travel to indoor snow but for others dry slopes make it a much more affordable proposition.
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Of course. Believe Silky is only £10/hr isnt it from looking at their site. Since we only live about 30mins away, should really get down and see what its like to keep on top of our already poor skills from when we go to scotland once a year.
North east england has a population of around 2.61million whilst north yorkshire has circa 600k. So your looking at around 3-3.5million potential people that could use the indoor slopes. Complete Scotland population is 5.3million people so not a huge deficit when you consider the land mass of both areas.
Im actually really looking forward to it. Castleford is 80miles for us which is a hour and a half away. To have something thats 25mile away or 40minutes would be far more beneficial.
I guess the people who use the northern england slopes, weardale, raise, yad moss etc would all be custom to the boro slope.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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A snowdome in Middlesbrough, pah never be as good as Eston Hills ski centre
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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"The owners had a great scheme charging people to train as instructors"
Yes I was one the trainee instructors. Still have Eston Hills Ski school sweat shirt to prove it! I can vouch that the surface was just like boiler plate ice. Good for honing your technique, but not exactly fun!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Great news that - as well as the article stating that it could be operational by the end of 2017/early 2018. Seems very swift - but there you go. However, I will still only believe it when I'm clicking into my bindings. I'm so near at work (10 mins walk) that I would even be able to ski on my lunchbreak...
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Lucky for some!
Yeah, bit different timings than another article I read of 2019 but it's coming and that's all that matters.
Probably be late 2018.
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TV's Look North just said operational in mid 2019 - the 2017/18 reference must mean first spade in the ground....
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You know it makes sense.
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They will need to raise the money first but it is probably good news for north east skiing. The existing centres in Wakefield and Manchester have generally been helpful to the club fields although they have not prepared users for the fast lift at Yad Moss.
I guess price may be key.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Poster: A snowHead
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Ahh that's great news! I've recently signed our girls up for polar bear club at Silksworth and can't imagine swapping for a dome just for the snow. We'll definitely use it but price will mean it's birthday treats rather than every other weekend.
The atmosphere at Silksworth has been very welcoming and I wonder if a business with such massive overheads could have quite the same infectious enthusiasm as the local clubs. Still, I've got everything crossed it comes off! 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Are the Dutch building it?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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re
You need 7 million catchment to make them work, so the population is just not big enough for one in Middlesborough I would have thought
The population of Teeside (and the spending power therein) will not be enough id expect, but if you roll in the populations of the entire North east - up towards Scotland - right down into North Yorkshire, and across Co Durham then IF their pricing is competitive then it has a chance in my opinion.
If they go for top price, people of the North east will not support it I doubt. There just isnt the ski community and the cash, but if they make it so that people can afford to go on a regular basis then I think it can be a success. All depends if they get greedy! There isnt a massive customer base really - so grab those North east Skiers with competitive pricing , and hang on to them, as there arent another 10,000 around the corner!
Peter
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Can we have one in the south now, please?
And I don't mean London. The proper south.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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There's already one at Milton Keynes
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@Frosty the Snowman,
The South is below the M4, so that probably rules out Swindon as well
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So... if the south begins at the M4 the north must begin at the A69.
That makes the Midlands rather large. 
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Well, there is a fairly active ski and snowboard community in the north east. Don't forget that we still have three active real ski areas and a recent history of plentiful artificial ski centres.
As recently as the 1980s there were 11 permanent or semi permanent ski tows in the north Pennines alone and numerous portable club tows. So in theory the interest should be there.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@Peter S, however, it is most likely that a greater proportion of the population in the south go skiing on holiday as they have more disposable income generally (I say this as an estranged northerner). Fridges were proposed for Swindon and Weston-S-Mare but that seems to have died a death. The only fridge I have easy access to using is in the kitchen.
In Gloucester, we do have the longest dry slope in England and Wales - I used to take students there many moons ago (the one Eddie Edwards used). Also took them to a dry slope near Bristol airport where I had my best lesson ever from an instructor called Chris.
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I'm a Boro lad and I cannot believe anyone is considering building a snowdome in the area of the UK with the lowest disposable income. Bloody crackers.
The only upside is that it could see the growth of a large retail/leisure complex such as at Castleford. Next to the proposed site is a huge Sansburys, which was built by the retailer, and then mothballed 2 years ago. This gives you some idea of the value of the "Boro Pound"
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FAQ
(Er, Tamworth's not being classed as up norf is it 
