KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Remember the more than $300 million idea to bring a 14-story ski and snowboard mountain, an indoor-outdoor skateboard park and a snowball area to Central Florida? Well, News 6 learned on Monday the plans are on hold due to financing issues.
Xero Gravity Action Sports told News 6 in February 2015 that it planned to build the Action Sports and Entertainment Resort, which also included a 250-room Hyatt hotel, near the intersection of U.S. Highway 192 and State Road 535, in Osceola County.
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The project was expected to be complete by 2018, but Larry Walshaw, CEO and founder of Xero Gravity Action Sports, said he's considering other options after walking away from a contract to build the 75-acre park.
"I'm still optimistic," Walshaw told News 6 over the phone Monday. "I'll always be optimistic that we can make this happen in Central Florida."
Walshaw doesn't have a location or a start date in mind because financing the extreme sports park remains a significant hurdle.
"The deal hinges on overseas investors," he said. "We're just waiting to finalize something with them, and then we'll start the next step."
Walshaw didn't talk specifics about the sites under consideration, but there's speculation that Daytona Beach and Orange County, including a location near the Orange County Convention Center, are possibilities.
Other amenities at the resort include nine snow-tubing lanes, a surfing and boogie boarding area, a USA BMX-sanctioned race track, two skydiving pods, an indoor dodgeball trampoline arena, a rapid river, rock climbing, a zip line, two water slides, a rope challenge and more.
Sounds amazing, but will this dream become a reality? We'll have to wait and see.