3/26/2006: Japanese indoor beach

[Undertoad]

Widen your browser windows and enjoy this amazing item via a blog called Impact Lab.

Looking to get away? About $50 gets you into Ocean Dome, the world's only indoor beach.



Every hour, the volcano erupts and the wave machines produce a few minutes of surf.



Right next to the real beach, but... uh... better?

[xoxoxoBruce]

It looks like a fair sized water park with numerous pools and slides at the end of the building.
It seems like a lot of trouble to keep people from traipsing across the golf course but these pictures were taken in beautiful weather. Japan gets a pretty serious winter too.

[Elspode]

We're in a serious public brouhaha here in KC over an upcoming tax increase vote which is designed to fund complete overhaul of Kauffman Stadium and Arrowhead Stadium (our side-by-side dedicated facilities collectively known as the Truman Sports Complex). Part of the deal is a rolling roof which will be able to cover either, but not both, facilities. It is a feature that was originally planned when TSC was built in the early 70's, but scrapped when construction costs were higher than planned (yes, that happened even in the 70's).

I find it interesting that a private enterprise has the balls to put together such a massively hi-tech entertainment site, but people here in KC are bitching about "corporate welfare" because the teams are demanding facilities that are on a par with other cities. In my mind, this ultimately isn't anything to do with corporate welfare...it is about public entertainment, much the same as this water park. A goodly chunk of the eventual taxes paid will come from purchases of tickets, parking, concessions and souvenirs at the improved facilities. The sales tax increase in question is rather small to begin with, and the investment in public pride and stature is enormous.

In any case, it seems to be an interesting and well-conceived plan.

Amazing how I got all of that sort of thought process out of an indoor pool, huh?

[xoxoxoBruce]

The amount of fabric used on the rolling roof is enough to create 5 of the Statue of Liberty's robes.

That much, huh? I'm sure everyone can relate to exactly how much fabric it takes to make a Statue of Liberty robe.

In my mind, this ultimately isn't anything to do with corporate welfare...it is about public entertainment

But what about the people being taxed that don't give a rats ass about sports? It's like taxing Christians to pay for the coliseum or the cost of importing Lions.

[Pancake Man]

Those wacky Japanese, what will they think of next? An indoor mountain? That would only take more money than most small countries have, but why should they worry? They can always cram people into 6x2x2 hotel pods and pay for that, too.

[Elspode]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

That much, huh? I'm sure everyone can relate to exactly how much fabric it takes to make a Statue of Liberty robe.

Yeah, that's one of those typical "gee whiz" facts for the rubes.

But what about the people being taxed that don't give a rats ass about sports? It's like taxing Christians to pay for the coliseum or the cost of importing Lions.

Not to worry...this thing doesn't have a prayer of passing, and with its defeat, we will, before too long, have two large, empty, deteriorating stadia sitting right alongside I-70, testimony to the one horse town Kansas City once was and will be once again.

Meanwhile, in a town somewhere else in America, there are people who have never had a football or baseball team who are ready to kill each other to get to the polls first to vote to be taxed to have what we are going to lose.

[jojo]

if i were really rich, i'd go here in the winter, and to dubai in the summer (for the indoor skiing)

[StereoMike]

I've been lurking here for some weeks now, and finally I have something to contribute:

This dome is in Germany and as I know the greatest dome of it's kind. It was the cargolifter (kinda zeppelin) building facility, but the whole idea died, just the dome was left. A foreign(asian) investor spend a lot of money to transform it into a tropical island.

[ashke]

It looks so orderly...

[xoxoxoBruce]

Welcome to the Cellar, StereoMike.

Originally Posted by Elspode

Not to worry...this thing doesn't have a prayer of passing, and with its defeat, we will, before too long, have two large, empty, deteriorating stadia sitting right alongside I-70, testimony to the one horse town Kansas City once was and will be once again.

Meanwhile, in a town somewhere else in America, there are people who have never had a football or baseball team who are ready to kill each other to get to the polls first to vote to be taxed to have what we are going to lose.

Do you really think a population should judge their worth, as a whole or as individuals, on the possession of sports franchises? Can't you think of better things to spend hundreds of millions on than a bunch of overpaid whiners?

[Kitsune]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

Right next to the real beach, but... uh... better?

Not ass-cold, like their real ocean is. You'd need a wetsuit to enjoy the real beach it is next to most of the year.

[Happy Monkey]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Do you really think a population should judge their worth, as a whole or as individuals, on the possession of sports franchises?

It would be slightly more understandable if it were possession. As it is, the sports teams are rentals. And expensive ones at that.

/living through the DC baseball extortion phase.

[glatt]

Thank god you guys got that stadium, and it didn't come to Virginia.

[Happy Monkey]

It's NIMBY for me, but I do feel for the people whose BY it's I. Plus, I hate to see DC's scarce funds heading into the pockets of people who can afford to buy a sports team.

[Pi]

Originally Posted by StereoMike

I've been lurking here for some weeks now, and finally I have something to contribute:

This dome is in Germany and as I know the greatest dome of it's kind. It was the cargolifter (kinda zeppelin) building facility, but the whole idea died, just the dome was left. A foreign(asian) investor spend a lot of money to transform it into a tropical island.

Yeah I saw some of it on TV, because there were a few people doing base-jumping from the top of the dome...