American Dream's indoor ski facility to reopen after fire

EAST RUTHERFORD — The fire-damaged Big Snow indoor skiing facility at American Dream will reopen Memorial Day weekend after working through several issues holding up repairs after a fire.

Nearly a dozen departments responded to the fire at the top of the indoor ski slope around 4:15 a.m. on Sept. 25, according to State Police. No one was there at the time of the fire.

New Jersey-based Snow Operating said that the damage was contained to a small area. Big Snow's slope has been closed ever since.

"Our plan is for Big Snow to reopen by Memorial Day weekend, just in time to kick off the summer shred season," according to a message. No specific dates or plans were disclosed.

Fire trucks respond to the fire at Big SNOW 9/25/21 (Moonachie Fire Department)

Sprinkler system problems

The park up until now has blamed “logistical constraints and global manufacturing delays" in repairing the fire damage.

“Our biggest delay in getting to reopening has and continues to be around the repair of our sprinkler system in the snow dome," Hugh Reynolds, CMO of Snow Partners told New Jersey 101.5.

"Some of the challenges we’ve faced over these past few months have been navigating the insurance process with multiple providers involved, securing the contractors, sourcing the raw materials for the pipe fabrication and navigating the construction challenges of making repairs in a continuously sub-freezing environment."

Owned by Snow Operating, which also owns the Mountain Creek ski area in Vernon, Big Snow is the only real-snow, year-round ski and snowboard resort. The 4-acre facility includes four lifts and maintains a constant 28-degree temperature.

Exterior of Big Snow inside American Dream at the Meadowlands (Dennis Symons, MidJersey.news)

Dan Alexander is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at dan.alexander@townsquaremedia.com

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