New Jersey governor Chris Christie and developer Triple Five announced plans for the new Meadowlands retail and entertainment complex. Formerly known as Xanadu, the renamed American Dream at Meadowlands will be a sprawling complex that will include an indoor amusement park, an indoor water park, an ice skating rink, an observation wheel and the only indoor ski slope in North America (pictured above). Triple Five's plans to complete the project also include improving the aesthetics of the exterior.

The developer has compared the project to similar multi-faceted complexes Mall of America and the West Edmonton Mall. Those massive malls are the first and second largest such facilities in the World and are also managed by Triple Five. American Dream hopes to not only attract tourists, but also locals with retail, restaurant, and nightlife establishments.

At a cost of $3.7 billion, American Dream is projected to attract 55 million annual visits while creating up to 35,000 jobs and millions in tax revenue. American Dream is scheduled to open in late 2013 a few months before Super Bowl XLVIII at the nearby Meadowlands Stadium.

[Photo Credit - Flickr user LancerE]

Filed under: North America, Theme Parks