At last night’s town hall meeting organized by Mammoth Resort’s Chairman and CEO, Rusty Gregory, the audience of approximately 100 people were given an opportunity to ask questions and receive information on the acquisition of Mammoth Resorts, including Snow Summit and Bear Mountain by the Aspen Skiing Company and KSL Capital Partners.
Gregory announced that “this is our first step in what we knew was coming, a roll up of the business”, meaning a consolidation of the ski industry. Although terms of the sale were not disclosed, Aspen and KSL Capital recently purchased Intrawest, a mountain resort and adventure company, for $1.5 billion. Questions were raised regarding how the Big Bear community will be affected by the sale. Gregory stated that once escrow closes by the end of third quarter 2017, they will determine what they are going to do next.
Many concerns by residents were in relationship to this past winter’s travel and parking issues as well as the over selling of tickets at the slopes. Gregory cited that much of this year’s business practices were based on the Mammoth model. Residents in the area of the golf course addressed concerns for potential plans ahead for the Bear Mountain Golf course. Mammoth Resort’s President, Dave Likins, added that they like the 4-season recreation model of the ski resorts and the golf course and that they are restricted from doing anything with the golf course until 2023.
In moving forward, Gregory added that Mammoth Resort’s philosophy of investing back into the community is also important to the Aspen company. He cited that Mammoth Resorts will continue to operate on a standalone basis but will coordinate closely with their new partner resorts to maximize all the opportunities available to them as a larger company.
