Indoor Ski Runs Offer Alpine High in Grimy Industrial Belt

About the only hills in this grimy industrial city are the slag heaps left behind by decades of coal mining and the weed-choked refuse piles built up by the blue-collar masses since the Industrial Revolution.

But Bottrop and another city 25 miles to the southwest, Neuss, have suddenly become hot venues for skiing and snowboarding, even without the uplifting scenery of the faraway Alps or the invigorating mountain air and sunshine.

The indoor winter sports centers that have simultaneously risen from the ruins of Germany’s most populated and polluted territory, the Ruhr River valley, may lack the inspiring atmosphere of an Alpine ski resort. But the new facilities, which are expected to draw 2 million visitors a year, offer an escape to the slopes without the expense or hassle of travel.

Germans are among Europe’s most avid skiers. More than 20 million people live within an hour’s drive of this blighted northern plain, many with the means and motivation to perfect their winter-sports prowess if only there were snow and slopes closer at hand.

So, in this frenzied era of timesaving economies and lifestyle compromises, the promoters of indoor skiing are hoping artificial snow on computer-engineered slopes in a climate-controlled steel cavern will provide the quick R&R; that busy workers want.

“Of course, you can’t compare it to the Alps. The run is way too short and the atmosphere is too sterile. But it’s a great alternative for practicing my favorite sport when there’s no snow around,” said Peter Matussek, a 28-year-old lawyer from Cologne testing the crowded Neuss facilities on opening day Thursday.

Bottrop’s run is more than 1,800 feet long, compared with nearly 1,000 feet at Neuss, and it has propelled Germany to the top of the international indoor ski sites, overtaking the approximately 1,500-foot run near Tokyo, until now the world’s longest indoor piste.

A Recognition of Consumer Demand

The German recreational projects, which were developed independently and came to fruition within days of each other more by coincidence than design, reflect a new strain of entrepreneurial spirit in this country--the recognition of a consumer demand and investors’ willingness to shake off complacency to fill it.

“I’m a businessman as well as a sportsman, and I see a lot of people in this area who would love to go skiing after work or on weekends, but there are no mountains around,” said Marc Girardelli, the Austrian-born World Cup downhill star who is one of the backers of Bottrop’s Alpincenter.

While Alpincenter and the Allrounder facility in Neuss appeal to frustrated flatlanders who can manage a real Alpine getaway only once or twice a year, Girardelli says the developers expect most customers to be beginners and families who cannot afford weeklong winter holidays costing at least $1,000 per person for flights, hotels, meals and lift tickets.

“You can ski for an hour here for about what you’d pay to go to the cinema,” Girardelli said. The athlete has invested money and reputation to bring his sport to the Ruhr region, home now to as many media and technology executives as laborers with hard hats and calloused hands.

Both ski and snowboarding caverns have automated pricing systems so that visitors can take frequent breaks to the beer bars and restaurants without having to pay for lift time--a system that also encourages nonskiers to accompany family and friends and watch from a warm and cozy remove. There are clothing and equipment shops, ski services, fitness rooms and day-care centers.

Five smaller indoor runs are already in operation in the nearby Netherlands, with another three in Belgium and two in Britain. Although Germany’s first indoor winter sports ventures have come on line nearly simultaneously, investors insist that the market is so large here and has been so long ignored that neither center has to fear sharing the wealth.

“This is the most densely populated part of Europe where people have both a tradition of skiing and the money to indulge in it,” said Allrounder business director Johannes Janz of the region surrounding his $33-million sports center. “There’s enough business for both of us, and offering people a choice can actually create a bigger market.”

Only about 40 minutes apart in the congested Ruhr valley, the two facilities have virtually identical offerings in services and operating hours, with both promising 9 a.m.-to-midnight access 365 days a year. The per-hour prices are also similar, with the $48-million Bottrop facility charging slightly more by virtue of its longer run. Depending on the time of day, indoor skiing costs between $7 and $10 per hour at the centers, where everything from skis to stocking caps can be rented.

Income Expected From Food and Drink

With only one run per facility and even an intermediate skier able to finish the Neuss piste in about 30 seconds, marketers predict that the average visitor will spend just a little more than one hour on the slopes and that a third of the facilities’ income will come from sales of food and drink. The first customers tended to confirm that.

“It’s so short, you can only do it about 10 times before you get bored,” said 16-year-old Alexander Schiffer, spending one of the last days of Germany’s extended holiday break at Neuss. “But we’ll probably come at least once a month to stay in shape.”

In keeping with the Ruhr region’s quest to rescue ruined industrial land for new uses, the Alpincenter is built on a pile of coal mine tailings and the Neuss complex sits atop an abandoned landfill. Neither landscape could have been considered attractive before, and the new facilities have done nothing to improve the view outside. Both ski centers appear from nearby highways to be monstrosities of steel girders atop muddy mountains. Developers have said gardens and walkways will be added within a year.

“There were a lot of protests in the beginning, but now that it’s done, people tend to accept it,” said Helga Moss, a 68-year-old retiree and recent widow who has been skiing for more than 40 years and lives only a mile from the Allrounder. “It actually makes a lot of sense, economically. It may not be beautiful, but people can get to it easily and keep up their skills between vacations.”

Whether the businesses will attract enough patrons in the summer, when swimming and sailing are more traditional pursuits in this region, remains to be seen, the developers concede. But enthusiasts such as 18-year-old Aachen student Christian Hrycyka insist that they will be even keener to escape to a cool place in the off-season.

The German developers are confident that their ski centers will operate in the black from the outset and say their financial backers are considering similar operations in other heavily populated cities.

“This project is making it possible for people to know the beauty of skiing year-round, just as they can play tennis or squash no matter what the weather is like,” Girardelli said. “Maybe it’s not the Alps, but for people in this region, coming inside here is like getting out in the fresh air.”