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Gran Scala is a €17 billion entertainment city,
designed with high sustainability requirements, to be built
on 2,025 hectares in the Aragón desert and which will include 32
casinos, 70 hotels, international convention center, 200
restaurants/fast food outlets, 5 major theme parks [SpacePortGranScala,
Spyland, Aquantica plus two, 15 medium theme parks and museums, 26
shows, concert halls, opera, theatres, circus shows, themed retail
center, golf course, equestrian center, sport and wellness centers.
The Gran Scala concept is based on a time-wheel with 16 time zones,
with each radiant representing a period in the evolution of
civilization.
A British-based consortium, International
Leisure Development
(www.ild-plc.com), whose major shareholders include Aristocrat
Technologies, UFA Insurance, Ultragroup, Inc. Atlanta, USA, Europtima,
and Tranchant Group, chose the location because of a possible 25
million catchment market (excluding foreign tourists) and its proximity
to Zaragoza Airport, an important hub in the low cost air network.
Zaragoza was also one of NASA’s Shuttle Tactical Abort Landing Sites
(STAL).
Sited in the Los Monegros region, (+/-50km east
of Zaragoza), Gran
Scala aims at taking a strong role in the region’s economic and social
development. It will integrate traditional agriculture, (in decline up
to now), in its landscape concept by using biologically treated waste
water for irrigation, thus helping climate control while regulating the
use of water through the seasons without jeopardizing water
availability in the Ebro valley.
Renewable energies (already over 20% of
Aragón’s energy production
today), both solar and wind generated, will be developed on a large
scale and combined with geothermal techniques and fuel cells allowing
for windmill produced hydrogen storage,. These techniques will be
integrated in both infrastructure and architecture, with, for example,
a high rise building having a double skin fabric façade thereby
increasing thermals for windmill activation and its base will cover a
naturally climate controlled Rambla, (with P.V. cells providing shade
and electricity). This “skirt “could also define different climate
zones and botanical gardens. Solar cooling technologies, ideally
efficient in Aragon’s climate, will reduce dramatically, Gran Scala’s
energy consumption.
Landscape concepts, combining traditional
agriculture and indigenous
vegetation, have been chosen for their capacity to retain water, which
will address certification requirements and studies will be undertaken
by natural environment specialists who will define the correct habitat
for rare flora and fauna. Natural areas will be part of carefully
planned reserves for endangered species reintroduction, an attraction
in its own right.
The HST [high speed train] link [Madrid-
Barcelona via Zaragoza is to
be opened shortly] and two nearby airports [Zaragoza and Huesca]
connect the Gran Scala resort to Europe’s main population and directly
serve Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, Valencia, Toulouse and Zaragoza within
a radius of just over an hour travel. The Gran Scala destination should
be regularly visited by the local population living within 300km. Gran
Scala expects 25 million visitors per year, but is being developed on
the basis of 35 million visitors per year.
Gran Scala will result in the creation of an
estimated 60.000 jobs,
which supplements the Autonomous Community of Aragon’s development plan
following the Expo 2008, which was held in Zaragoza. Gran Scala has
been declared to be of both regional and national importance.
About
SpacePortGranScala - A Futuristic Space City
SpacePortGranScala
is a 95 hectare space-themed entertainment, hospitality and leisure
resort with:-
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a 60 hectare theme park, multi-day Mars Experience and a Space Camp |
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two hotels and an international convention center |
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tourist condos, and wellness center |
 | restaurants and retail |
SpacePortGranScala
will include two space-themed [Year2100 and Year3000] casinos each on a
9 hectare site, and each with a hotel and mini cultural museum.
The underlying core offer of SpacePortGranScala will be “Explore”,
“Experience”, Innovate” and “Live”, themes that will be carried
throughout SpacePortGranScala’s theme park, hotels, retail, and
lifestyle real estate. |
Using space
as a theme together with our human desire to explore, and with
technology as the enabler, SpacePortLeisure will provide intelligent,
stimulating, and fun-filled lifestyle, entertainment and learning
experiences that will give freedom to transcend language and culture,
thus creating dynamic new ways of learning and of building new
communities across the globe. Our creativity will be as expansive as
the Universe.
Only a
privileged few will be able to experience a real flight into space. In
conceiving the SpacePortLeisure concept, the goal is to give visitors
and residents alike, an experience of “Stepping into Space” at our
SpacePortGranScala.
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Only a privileged few will be able to experience a real flight into
space. In conceiving the SpacePortLeisure concept, the goal is to give
visitors and residents alike, an experience of “Stepping into Space” at
our SpacePortGranScala.
Visitors to SpacePortGranScala will be whipped away from Planet Earth
for the day on an awe inspiring adventure normally only experienced by
a select few space tourists. From the moment they arrive, they will
start the illusion that they are departing for a journey into space and
throughout this journey will be entertained by attractions for all to
enjoy from educational interactive displays and simulations to the
wildest roller coasters for the true thrill seeker.
SpacePortGranScala, as a concept, is in touch with the times and will
always be contemporary. It is linked to space and mankind’s continuous
exploration of his Universe. The concept has longevity since it is
futuristic and sustainable through software technology. Since man first
gazed up at the stars, he has been inspired to discover, to travel, to
experiment, to invent and understand. SpacePortGranScala will involve
its visitors in the vision of the future through knowledge and
innovation, providing a unique blend of education and entertainment. | |
The mission
of SpaceportGranScala is optimistic, future oriented and involving in a
unique way. Everyone really IS an explorer, and explorers really will
make incredible discoveries about the cosmos in the next century. This
place will be the rightful home of those explorers. Our “A to A Prime”
narrative story paradigm involves transforming the guest from a mere
observer/tourist into a participant in the story. Just about everyone
wants to be an explorer – this place is the home for these daring,
courageous adventurers.
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SpacePortLeisure
is set to break ground late 2012 at SpacePortGranScala, with a
development cost of some €1.7 billion for Phases 1 and 2. BRC
Imagination Arts, of Burbank, California, who has done major projects
for NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Disney and Universal, to name but a
few, will generate the SpacePortGranScala Master Plan and will project
manage the development from an entertainment standpoint. Lend Lease
will be the Technical/Construction Managers for SpacePortGranScala.
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