A US$1bn (£0.53bn, 0.78bn euro) ski and waterpark destination resort is being planned for Las Vegas, Nevada, US.

The project is backed by Wall Street and has been masterminded as a joint initiative between attraction masterplanners Thinkwell Design and Production and Proteus Creative, an entertainment development company comprising a number of former Disney and Universal Studios executives, designers, architects and engineers.

The family-orientated resort will boast one of the largest indoor waterparks in North America alongside a snow dome, two hotels, a casino, an events arena and a number of food chains.

The waterpark will cover 30 acres, with around 250,000sq ft (23,000sq m) indoors while the snow dome will feature man-made snow attractions including indoor skiing and a snow play area and occupy a further 40 acres.

The design team intends the project to be as environmentally friendly as possible, using solar panels wherever possible to generate electricity alongside microturbines to heat and cool both buildings and water.

Co-founder of the project, Steven Dooner, said: “We spent a year analysing the needs of Las Vegas from both a tourist aspect as well as local needs. We realised that this would be an attraction for out-of-towners, that the people of Las Vegas Valley deserved a facility they could call their own.

“Think of it – you can throw on ski gear and practice your downhill technique and then change clothes and surf at the waterpark, all in one day.” Details: www.proteuscreative.net