Super-sized Mall of America to go mega with $2.5B expansion

Just when you thought Mall of America had it all, soon you could swim, skate,
stay longer…20130702__130703moa1

To glimpse the expansion plans at Mall of America, check out its Canadian sibling, the West Edmonton Mall.

That Canadian mall features an indoor water park of jaw-dropping size — six acres under glass, with more than a dozen water slides, bungee jumping, a wave pool and more.

Mall of America in Bloomington plans a similar spectacle “of a size and scale that it would be a tourist attraction in and of itself,” said Kurt Hagen, senior vice president of development for Triple Five Worldwide, which owns both huge malls.

“We are intending to do a major water park resort.”

The Edmonton mall also contains an NHL-sized skating rink. Bloomington’s mall wants to build a similar rink, ringed by shops, in its Phase II development — unless mall officials come up with something even better.

“Today, it’s a skating rink, but tomorrow, it may be something we haven’t even thought of,” said Maureen Bausch, MOA’s executive vice president for business development.

And the Edmonton mall features a pair of hotels, enticing visitors to stay for days, not just hours.

Until four months ago, Mall of America had no hotels on site. Soon, it’s likely to have three — maybe four — as its expansion rolls on.

“It becomes another reason to come to Mall of America,” said Jim McComb, a Twin Cities retail analyst. “The longer you keep somebody on your property, the more money they’ll spend with you.

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Shopping Centers ranked Mall of America as the largest of the nation’s 113,000 shopping centers.

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