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Skiing in Barcelona probably sounds like an oxymoron to most people. With its warm climate and lack of snow, Barcelona is not normally on avid skiers’ top lists of destinations, but that all could soon change once an indoor skiing facility is built in Barcelona.
The concept of an indoor skiing facility may be foreign to some, but there are actually a lot of facilities like this that already exist. There are several in Europe – mostly in areas with cooler climates, some in Asia, and others scattered across the world. The indoor skiing facility in Dubai is the most relevant to Barcelona because it is also in a very warm climate. The facility has had to take extra care by making walls several feet deep and heavily insulated to keep the inside cold enough for ideal skiing conditions, exactly what the facility in Barcelona will need to emulate.
While the indoor ski facility in Barcelona is certainly not the first of its kind, it will be unique because it plans to have a total of zero emissions. The green focus of the building will be driven by using waste from other sources in order to produce the energy needed to keep the building at its required cold temperature. This will be accomplished by utilizing the harbor in the Mediterranean Sea as the source of the cooling and solar panels as the source of energy used for electricity and light. By utilizing these clean energies, the facility will be carbon-neutral.
Building an indoor skiing facility would also help to boost Barcelona’s economy. Local restaurants and shopping centers would prosper from the increase in foot traffic, and more tourists would be drawn to the area. In addition, skiing which is traditionally a seasonal sport, will be able to draw in profits all year round. This makes indoor skiing facilities very attractive for Barcelona and other large cities.
Barcelona the city may also get involved with the production of the indoor skiing facility in hopes of gaining the position of host city for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. Barcelona gaining this bid relies heavily on their ability to produce the necessary facilities, while keeping their goal of a zero-emission Olympics.
Do you think that Barcelona will be able to capture a bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics with new indoor facilities? Let us know!
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