Las Vegas Ski & Snowboard Resort
Draft Master Development Plan

Summary of Base Area Skier Service Facilities and Functions

The spatial organization and functional relationships of the service facilities is cantered in and around the base area daylodge, utilizing adjacent plazas and circulation corridors for directional way-finding and orientation.

The general base area hierarchy from arrival at the resort to the enjoyment of winter activities is as follows:

1. Entry/Arrival - The visitor should be given a definite sense of arrival with a minimum of decision points and limited pedestrian/vehicular conflict.
2. Staging Facilities - Generally required by most visitors, these services include ticket sales, restrooms and information. These services can be located in the base area core, as well as in a distinct "multi-purpose" daylodge.
3. Commercial Facilities - Required by most, but not all visitors, the secondary services include retail outlets, ski rental and repair, ski school, daycare facilities, public lockers and food and beverage facilities. Most of these services can be located within the daylodge.
4. Skier Congregation - Includes provision of adequate space for the placement of, and circulation around ski racks, information kiosks and equipment donning areas.
5. Base Area Ski Lift Terminals - Skiers should be able to see and move easily to the lower terminals of the ski lifts. Ideally, there should be a two percent grade sloping down to the lift terminals from the skier congregation plazas.
6. Operational/Service Facilities - Operational and service functions include delivery, storage and waste disposal areas, ski patrol and first aid facilities, area administration and employee locker rooms.
7. Skier Service Floorspace Overview - The overview describes the categories and inter-relationships between the various skier services.

ENTRY/ARRIVAL ZONE

The entry/arrival zone acts as the reception area of the resort and is the initial opportunity to present the "brand" and resort identity. The entry/arrival zone is an area that also presents resort guests with their first impression and is often a good indicator of their upcoming experience. The entry/arrival zone needs to provide visitors arriving by bus and car with essential staging and information services.

Day visitors will proceed directly to the parking lots and carry their equipment to the skier congregation area.

STAGING FACILITIES

Staging facilities are those which are required by almost all visitors arriving at the ski and snowboard area and must be easily accessible with generous space allowances.

Tickets

Since almost all lift tickets are purchased before noon, a southeast orientation maximizes solar exposure and hence, improves guest comfort. Line-ups for lift tickets must be arranged so that distinct lines of up to 25 people can be formed. Ticket areas should have temporary ski and snowboard racks nearby to allow sliders to easily set their equipment aside while purchasing tickets. As patrons approach the ticket windows, shelves are needed for guests to place goggles, gloves and hats while reaching for their wallet or credit cards. Rates should be posted for every two windows for easy reading to speed up the exchange. Many areas find it useful to heat the area overhead the last two or three spaces in line where, during inclement weather, bare hands must be used to complete the ticket purchase.

Space must be allowed for clientele to move away from the ticket windows and attractive but apparent trash receptacles should be placed adjacent to the equipment racks. Purchase of the lift ticket is a ski area's single most important contact with its clientele. The experience should be pleasant but not unduly memorable.

Ticket Window

Information

Information services are generally handled at an information wicket adjacent to the ticket windows or, alternatively, at a counter space which doubles as the reception for the area's administrative offices. This service disseminates information pertaining to everything from weather conditions to special ski programs and events. The information center should be staffed by polite and knowledgeable personnel.

Restrooms

Public restrooms are required by both day skiers and area visitors. Restrooms are frequently relegated to basement areas which are easily accessible from the arrival plaza, as well as the food and beverage services. Quite frequently, restrooms will have both indoor and outdoor entrances to minimize congestion within the resort center.

Restrooms/Lockers

COMMERCIAL FACILITIES

The secondary services are those which bring substantial revenues to the area but are not required by all clientele. As such, these services take a secondary place to the primary services, but must still be easily accessible from the primary pedestrian plaza and circulation area.

Retail Ski Shop

Retail shops for day skiers and snowboarders generally experience high volumes of business on accessories such as goggles, ski poles, gloves, hats, etc. The retail shops should have windows and a covered entrance directly accessible from the primary skier plazas, since frontage space is directly related to sales.

Ski/Snowboard and Sport Equipment Rental/Repair

Ski and snowboard rental and repair shops are also very high volume businesses which must outfit large numbers of guests with full equipment packages within a two hour period. Ideally, the ski area rental shops will have an entry corridor where clientele fill out forms and examine the rate sheets then move into an equipment fitting area which exits directly onto the skier congregation area. During the afternoon periods, the morning exit becomes the afternoon entrance as renters return equipment and pick up their identification and deposits.

Rental Shop Rental Shop and Equipment Storage

Ski/Snowboard School

The ski school office or desk also requires access to the primary skier plazas for the purpose of maximizing use of the ski/snowboard school. Sometimes the ski school is located inside the ski shop, while other schools run from a counter in the daylodge.

Daycare/Children's Ski School

A daycare and children's ski school center is essential at ski resort areas. Experience has shown that well run, professionally staffed daycare centers can provide significant revenues to an area, while encouraging increasing participation in skiing by families. The daycare center is situated slightly away from the main activity areas, with direct access to a small, fenced snowplay or handle tow area. The nursery/daycare building should provide special food preparation and toilet facilities, as well as room for general play, crafts and nap periods.

Children's Ski School

Public Lockers

Recent ski industry experience suggests that public lockers provide good service and a potential profit center. Many areas are going towards a "country club" atmosphere with full size lockers where visitors leave their equipment throughout the week and change into ski gear upon arriving at the area. This set-up ensures a loyal clientele. Public lockers and change areas are best situated adjacent to the washrooms and can be secured separately after hours.

Food & Beverage Services

Food and beverage services are utilized throughout the day. Where possible, these facilities should have views of the mountain slopes and good sun exposure. Outdoor space and sundecks can also provide additional seating at modest expense. The layout of the food service area is paramount to the economic success of the food service operation and most areas have gone to a "scramble" and modified "fast food" system to improve sales and customer efficiency. While most ski area cafeteria facilities serve beer and wine, the bar and lounge facilities are generally separated from the main cafeteria to afford sociability to distinct social and age groups.

Mountain Restaurant with Outdoor Ski Racks Skier/Snowboarder Congregation Area

SKIER/SNOWBOARDER CONGREGATION

The skier/snowboarder congregation area is ideally separated vertically from the entry and pedestrian plazas to discourage guests on skis from entering the vehicle zone. The skier congregation area has well manicured snow surfaces with equipment racks and is used to purchase tickets, put on ski equipment and enter the lift massing areas or, alternatively, to store equipment while using the lodge facilities.

OPERATIONAL FACILITIES

While there are no set rules for the spatial location of the area administration and other service functions, administration and staff lockers are frequently situated in the basement, or north facing sides of the buildings. The first aid and ski patrol requires direct access from the slopes to allow the patrol to bring in accident victims by toboggan. There must also be direct ambulance access to the first aid room from a vehicular terminus zone or parking lot. The first aid room should have approximately one bed for every 500 skiers for comforting accident victims while they are waiting for friends or further medical aid. Preferably, the first aid room should be situated in an area which is not highly visible to the majority of the area's clientele.

Proposed Skier Service Floorspace Parameters

To assist in the planning and analysis of skier service facilities, the number of skiers/boarders (the Skier Carrying Capacity/SCC) that would be skiing at the resort on a "Design Day" needs to be determined. The design day is chosen to represent the average business levels expected during the high season. This is not the "Peak Day" experienced during the season. If facilities were designed for the peak day, they would be under-utilized for the balance of the season.

For planning and skier services programming of the Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort, 80 percent of the SCC has been selected as the number of skiers and sliders to plan for on the Design Day.

Due to known LVSSR on-site demand and the potential of this high growth market in the region to expand, we have identified a number of specific skier and snowboarder service functions that will require adjustments to the floor area requirements. Unless otherwise noted we have used space use area requirements based on either average USFS standards or average Ecosign standards, as listed in Table IV.7.

In 1977, the United States Forest Service performed a detailed inventory of skier service facilities at western U.S. resorts. This inventory was tabulated and broken down into 15 primary service functions. While this inventory provided a good baseline for skier and snowboarder service functions, it is old and outdated. Ecosign has since updated this data base using the USFS format based on current standards of North American and European Resorts. Based on this data and discussions with management at Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort, and with respect to the local market, we have made adjustments to the space required to service guests at the area.

There is a high percentage of resort guests who require lockers, and as is indicated in the existing skier services floorspace inventory, there is a surplus. Based on these findings we have used an Ecosign average standard of 0.95 sq. ft. per skier. Based on experience and following discussions with management, we also know that equipment rental is required by a high percentage of visitors and that skiing and snowboarding in the region is a growing market. As such, we have increased the space use requirement for Equipment Rental and Repair to 2.00 sq. ft. per skier, Ski School area allocation to 0.38 sq. ft. per skier and Day Care service facilities to 0.43 sq. ft. per skier.

We have assumed the USFS average of 3.00 sq. ft. per skier for food service seating, assuming three turns per seat. Due to the comfortable climatic conditions in the region, we anticipate that there will be a significant number of outdoor seats available, which have not been shown in Table V.7.

Table IV.8 shows an inventory of the existing skier services at Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort. Based on the 80 percent "Design Day" approach, we have calculated the existing floorspace as a percentage of recommended skier service space and calculated the number of skiers/boarders serviced by each service function. Existing individual service functions such as public lockers are in excess of the recommended floorspace, however this service function is poorly laid out and as such, not functioning at the capacities indicated by the existing floor areas listed.

All other skier and slider services are deficient in floorspace with the exception of ticket sales which is very close to being what is required. Overall, existing skier service floorspace is 59 percent of what is recommended for the number of existing skiers and boarders currently recorded at the resort. These findings would lead us to believe that most services are under a great deal of stress on busy days and as a result may be having a negative impact on the enjoyment of the resort guest experience.