The partnership between the two companies, which remains unnamed, is North America’s second-largest player in the ski resort world, and the latest purchase is a direct challenge to Vail Resorts, the world’s largest resort operator. The companies are not planning any major changes for the Park City, Utah resort.
The partnership between Aspen Skiing and KSL Capital Partners has resulted in the purchase of Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah, the Denver Post reported.
The purchase adds a key Utah destination to the partnership’s growing portfolio that already included resorts in Colorado, California and elsewhere, and makes a direct challenge to Vail Resorts, the world’s largest resort operator, the Post reported.
C&RB has reported on the partnership and its recent purchases.
The newly formed—and yet unnamed—Denver-based partnership already ranks as North America’s second-largest player in the ski resort world after its formation in April. With the Deer Valley deal, it picked off one of the highest-end ski areas in the world, which sits adjacent to Vail’s sprawling Park City resort complex, the Post reported.
In the past six months, Aspen Skiing owner Jim Crown and KSL Capital Partners have roiled the industry with their corralling of six Intrawest ski areas, Southern California’s dominant Mammoth Resorts and Lake Tahoe’s Squaw-Alpine resorts into a single entity, promising a yet-to-be-discussed season-pass product that will rival Vail’s wildly successful Epic Pass. And Colorado will be the battleground for the two Front Range-based companies, the Post reported.
With resorts in Colorado—Winter Park and Steamboat—Canada, the East Coast and California, the new partnership now adds Utah to the mix, giving it a continent-wide presence, the Post reported.
Deer Valley, which is renowned as a luxury destination with high-end lodging and dining, meticulous grooming and a decidedly upscale and dedicated clientele, “is a real gem and great addition to our network of resorts,” said David Perry, the former Intrawest and Aspen Skiing executive who recently left to direct the new joint venture.
“It’s an exceptional resort. I think they were really pleased to hear the story of this new company and what we are creating and what our values are and how we want to approach this business,” said Perry, winding down a companywide staff meeting for his new company at its Blue Mountain resort in Ontario, Canada. “I think we align with the legacy they have built. They are understandably proud of what they have created and they want to make sure their legacy is carried forward.”
One of the long-standing traditions at Deer Valley, a privately owned resort operating on private land, is a ban on snowboarding, making it one of three resorts in the country that prohibit the sport. Aspen Mountain used to ban snowboarding but embraced the single-plank riders in 2001, the Post reported.
There will be no upheaval at Deer Valley, Perry said, which has been owned since its founding in 1981 by two families. The longtime face of the resort, President and General Manager Bob Wheaton, will remain at the helm, the Post reported.
“We are going to work with the team there and see what the best path forward is on key issues like snowboarding,” Perry said. “It will not be a top-down approach. We are going to listen to what they believe and learn from their approach to the business.”
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