Deep Creek Lake, MD – Owners of Wisp Resort say that a decline in home sales in and around Deep Creek Lake may force them to sell Maryland’s only ski area, situated in Garrett County in the state’s far western panhandle.

Partners in DC Development LLC, Wisp’s owner since 2001, owe more than $23 million of a $28.5 million loan from BB&T Corp. of Winston-Salem, N.C. The loan was made in 2007 to fund construction of a golf course and 197 home sites. They say that selling Wisp, which is held separately under a subsidiary named Recreational Industries Inc., is only a last resort but one that they’re considering out of necessity.

The financial difficulties arise not from ski resort operations, but from the Lodestone golf course community where home sites simply aren’t moving. Given market conditions, DC’s partners simply don’t envision a buyer stepping forward to acquire Lodestone, where DC has been forced to reduce lot prices by up to 28 percent as few have sold. With nearly 200,000 skier visits annually generating some $16 million in annual revenue, Wisp would be a much stronger asset to sell.

Potential buyers include the owners of Seven Springs, another popular ski resort to the north in western Pennsylvania that draws visitors primarily from Ohio. DC hopes to avoid a sale by restructuring its loan with BB&T later this month or in October.

Wisp officials insist that the 2001-12 ski and snowboard season will take place at the resort as planned, and is scheduled to begin on November 25.