Since Eldora Mountain Resort’s parent company announced it was for sale last August, officials in the quirky mountain town of Nederland just down the road have been wondering how new ownership might affect their beloved old-school ski area.
That has led them to an interesting thought: What if the town became the new owner?
Town administrator Jonathan Cain concedes the idea is a longshot for the town of 1,500 residents, but he maintains there is a “plausible path forward” to making it a reality.
“It’s a big deal, not an easy thing by any means,” Cain said. “But, if we’re able to do it, it’s going to make the town of Nederland a resilient community for generations to come. I think it makes Eldora a resilient ski area, and I think the benefit to the public could be tremendous.
“In government, things come up, once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. You have to investigate them and see what you can do,” he added.
Public ownership of ski areas isn’t without precedent. Ski Cooper near Leadville is owned by Lake County. Howelsen Hill, a small area just across the river from downtown Steamboat Springs, is owned by the city. Winter Park has been owned by the city and county of Denver since it first opened in 1940, although it currently is managed by Alterra Mountain Company.
“We want to be Eldora’s ski town,” Cain said. “We want to keep our goals of sustainability and our old-school Colorado vibe that we have. I think a lot of people really appreciate our history and our connection to nature, so we don’t want to become something different than that. But as those conversations happened, there was that, ‘What if we did? What if there were opportunities for us to explore, grant funding and partnerships, that would let us build a local’s ski hill?’”
Town officials will share their thoughts in a public board of trustees meeting at 7 p.m. today, Nov. 19, at the Nederland Community Center, which will be streamed online. The town also has compiled a lengthy FAQ page regarding its thoughts about buying the ski area.
“The goal is to have this community conversation and really talk about how does this look?” Cain said. “If we can figure it out, do we want to do this as a community? I think so far, the response has been overwhelmingly positive.”
Eldora spokesman Sam Bass declined to comment on the sale process, relaying a statement from its owner Powdr’s corporate office in Salt Lake City that said, “We have no update to share publicly at this time on the process or potential buyers.” Powdr is working with JP Morgan Chase to manage the sale process.
Nederland’s FAQ acknowledges that the purchase price may fall in the range of $100 million to $200 million, based on recent sales of other ski areas.
“We have had enough initial conversations to believe that we do have a funding path,” Cain said. “There are a lot of programs that are available to a municipality that make something like this easier than it is for some other entities. It could be a partnership. It could be looking at other funding sources, looking at federal funding sources and other ways municipalities can raise money. I am relatively confident that, if we’re given the chance, we can come up with a funding structure that would work.”
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Town officials believe Eldora is profitable and that Powdr has been a good steward. In announcing the sale of Eldora, Killington in Vermont, Mount Bachelor in Oregon and SilverStar in British Columbia, Powdr officials said the sales were part of a strategy to balance its ski resort holdings with expanded operations as concessionaires at national parks. Copper Mountain, which also is owned by Powdr, is not for sale.
“I have nothing but good things to say about the folks at Powdr,” Cain said. “They have really invested in Eldora and made it better since they took over. They’ve kept up on the facilities and trails. I think Eldora is a well-run mountain.”
But they also are concerned about the affordability of skiing in the era of upscale mega-resorts and growing corporate ownership.
“Maybe it’s possible to have a ski lift ticket that doesn’t cost $200 or $300 a day,” Cain said. “Maybe we can find some creative strategies to manage traffic so the hill doesn’t get overcrowded, and there’s still opportunities for it to be successful. We might have a more agile ownership structure that could do some of those things.
“If we can build an experience where the town and the hill have a symbiotic relationship, we can keep this piece of Colorado that has been thriving for decades for our kids to see,” he said.