MINNEAPOLIS _ Plans for America's latest megamall, near Miami, include indoor skiing and ice skating.
The giant complex also would have water ballet fountains, a performing arts center and a submarine ride.
And, of course, millions of square feet of space for stores.
When the Mall of America opened in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington nearly a quarter-century ago, it was unique _ bigger and more spectacular than any other shopping destination in the United States. People who had never been to Minnesota booked plane tickets to see it.
These days, over-the-top retail destinations are appearing around the world. In a battle for the attention of shoppers who can get virtually anything they want online, mall developers are creating gigantic complexes that blur the line between retail and entertainment.
The Mall of America's Canadian owner, Triple Five Group, is working on both the Florida project and one in New Jersey _ each branded under the grandiose name "American Dream" _ that could surpass Minnesota's marquee mall in size. Meanwhile, King of Prussia Mall outside Philadelphia now has 450 stores that span 2.9 million square feet of retail space, nearly as much as the Mall of America.
Several malls in Asia dwarf anything in the United States, and one in Canada is accredited as a zoo.
"We're so fickle these days, and we want to be entertained," said Deb Carlson, retail director at Cushman & Wakefield/NorthMarq and past president of the Minnesota Shopping Center Association. "I think the big malls do a whole lot of that by virtue of being large and having a huge plethora of shops and entertainment."
Last year's $325 million expansion of the Mall of America restored its bragging rights as the nation's biggest mall, a claim that had been in question for some time depending on how you measured. But it is unlikely to end the ongoing pressure malls feel to get bigger and glitzier to give shoppers a reason to keep coming back.
With department stores struggling and online competition growing, it is essential to stand out.
On one side, the big malls compete with tourist destinations that add to or refresh their attractions each year. But they also need to outpace smaller regional malls that are renovating and adding new stores, amid fears that the weakest of them may not survive.
"The malls are at risk," Carlson said. "I think they have been for a while. ... There's a fear that some of these malls aren't going to stay open."
The Mall of America already has a huge indoor amusement park and aquarium. But it continues to add features such as the Crayola Experience, new rides such as FlyOver America and new-to-the-market restaurants such as Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville. It also draws big crowds for the 400-plus events it hosts each year, including many celebrity appearances.
Its latest addition brought it a new front entrance as well as a JW Marriott hotel, an office tower and 165,000 square feet of retail space. That space is still being leased out but already includes eateries such as Shake Shack and highly anticipated shops such as Zara and a flagship Anthropologie. Altogether, the mall now has 5.6 million square feet of building space, 3.2 million of it for retail.
"People are always looking for that opportunity to check out the largest, the biggest, the newest," said Jill Renslow, the Mall of America's senior vice president of marketing and business development. "We continue to develop because we want to keep this property fresh. ... That's what is key to our success so that it doesn't become stale."
And it's not done. With a new luxury wing in the planning and more land to expand, the Mall of America is already working on what comes next.
