Parent company X-leisure is headed by French dynamo PY Gerbeau, who revived the fortunes of Euro Disney and the Millennium Dome, a man who knows a thing or two about vision and the leisure market. Xscape centres south of the border have seen 30 million visitors pass through the doors in five years at Milton Keynes and Castleford.
PY’s love of sport and joie de vivre complements his business acumen. From the age of 18, he was a professional ice hockey player, starring for the French national team at Olympic level before a match injury, at 24, wrecked his ankle and forced an early retirement. PY turned his energies to business and is excited about bringing us indoor snow.
Xscape Braehead opens on April 6 with 1,700 tonnes of snow created every night from snow guns which will fire cooled water into air chilled to -2°. Groomed daily, the slope can be adapted to include features like bumps or moguls.
There will also be a large freestanding climbing wall and 60-metre long aerial adventure course. Other tantalising features include a fan drop – a controlled freefall system originally used by the army for parachute training. Instruction for all activities and levels will be available. A multiplex cinema, bowling alley, shops and restaurants complete the indoor package.
PY says: “We strongly believe Glasgow is going to be the best of the three Xscapes. So far the excitement has been quite massive. We’re not trying to replace the ski slopes. A 200-metre real snow slope is not going to replace a fantastic ski run at the top of a Scottish mountain.
“But the snow slopes provide a great training facility. The quality of snow is excellent – we spend an absolute fortune on it. My goal is to create an Olympic skier, the next Alain Baxter, at one of the Xscapes and if it’s Scotland it would be even better.”
Already Xscape has opened doors for youngsters. “We have a young kid who just won his age category in the national championship. He’s into hard training at Milton Keynes. The first time he saw a real snow slope was on the day of the competition,” says PY.
Sounding like a Gallic Willy Wonka, PY enthuses: “People entering the building see things they’ve never heard of or dreamed of, like the Robocoaster. It shakes you like you’re in a milkshake. Then people see the climbing wall and assault course.
“We’re also creating about 900 local jobs. It’s a win for regeneration and we’re hoping Scotland will embrace it as their own. There’s been fantastic support by everyone in Scotland, mainly because of the French and the Auld Alliance – we’re fighting against the Rosbeefs,” he says. “But don’t worry, I will respect the Auld Alliance and I will never, never ask for a British passport. But I’ll be there when we open the doors to look at people’s faces.”
Those faces will be fixed on the climbzone as people file through the doors. Climbzone director Derek Lawson says: “There’s a big wall, 10 or 11 metres high. We’ll have the largest freestanding curved resin wall in Scotland. It looks spectacular.
“The climbs will range from easy up to very hard. Twenty-three auto belays will fully protect any fall with a slow descent to the ground. And there’ll be four or five lead climbing routes as well.”
Derek says lone climbers will love the auto belays. “If at lunchtime you want to go for a climb you can do it without having someone there.”
Up above, the Skypark, at 15 metres will offer a zip slide, swinging rungs and platforms, and a traverse wall. PY admits he’s risk averse when it comes to the Skypark. “For the Skypark you have to be very courageous. My nine-year-old daughter went. I was scared as hell!”
One of the zone’s highlights will be the traverse wall, a 40-metre long feature. Derek says: “It’ll be challenging. It’s like a climbing wall, placed at a slight angle. You have to look down at your feet and so, obviously, down at the ground at the same time. It’s quite a scary, but brilliantly safe, activity, because you’re always attached.”
Then there’s the Fandrop, starting from a 15-metre high platform you jump, with only a limp rope for company. “You freefall half the distance,” says Derek, “and then float down very, very slowly. It takes a lot of guts to jump off – and that’s what it’s all about.”
But it’s not just fun lovers who seek out Xscape; the Scottish ski team, who have previously travelled to Xscape Leeds, will be training there. They will be in good hands – the snozone general manger is former Scottish ski internationalist Jane Rhodes who will ensure the Scottish ski team maximise the facilities. Jane says the slope will be great for pros, enthus iasts and beginners alike.
“As well as the team, we want to encourage snowboarders and freestyle skiers to come in and use the jumps and rails to better their own pattern. It’s an absolutely fantastic facility and a great bonus for Scotland.
“It’s perfect for those wanting to brush up skills before heading on winter holidays or, of course, in the summer months.”
Scotland’s Olympic snowboarder Lesley McKenna is an Xscape fan too. Lesley says: “I’m looking forward to seeing the finished product. You can do a lot with indoor areas, the Japanese Olympic snowboarding team trained indoors all summer and they’ve one of the world’s strongest teams.
“The Xscapes in Castleford and Milton Keynes are pretty impressive places. You can put up rails and jumps. You can definitely have a very good time.”
05 March 2006
