Broomfield, CO – Vail Resorts, Inc. and Booth Creek Resort Properties LLC each today confirmed the sale of Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort in Truckee, Calif. Vail Resorts acquired the stock of the companies that operate Northstar-at-Tahoe from Booth Creek and other sellers for total consideration of $63 million.nThe operations of Northstar-at-Tahoe are conducted on land owned by CNL Lifestyle Properties, Inc. which will be leased to Vail Resorts under a long-term agreement. Vail Resorts now operates two ski and snowboard resorts in the Lake Tahoe region, also operating Heavenly Mountain Resort in South Lake Tahoe. The Sierra-at-Tahoe resort is not part of the acquisition and will continue to be operated by Booth Creek.
With the sale of Northstar, Sierra-at-Tahoe is now the sole ski resort holding of Booth Creek, which not long ago owned ski resorts across the U.S. from coast to coast. Earlier this month Booth Creek sold its last eastern resort, Waterville Valley, to a group of investors led by New Hampshire’s politically powerful Sununu family.
“We are thrilled by the opportunity to bring Northstar-at-Tahoe into our family of world-class mountain resorts. With substantial and diverse ski terrain, a completely renovated and modern base village and outstanding guest service, Northstar-at-Tahoe has been one of the fastest growing mountain resorts over the past few years,” said Rob Katz, chairman and chief executive officer of Vail Resorts. “We believe guests of Heavenly and Northstar will greatly appreciate the flexibility to enjoy both the north and south shores of Lake Tahoe as we introduce pass and lift tickets products that offer access to both resorts starting with this coming 2010-11 ski season.”
Northstar-at-Tahoe and Sierra-at-Tahoe will now be included in Vail Resorts’ Epic Season Pass and Epic 7-Pack products. The Double Whammy Unlimited Pass was sold this fall for unlimited skiing and riding at both Northstar-at-Tahoe and Sierra-at-Tahoe resorts, and existing pass holders will be able to exchange their Double Whammy Unlimited Pass for the Epic Season Pass for $629 and receive a refund for the difference in the price. Those who purchased the Double Whammy Limited or Value passes will now have access to Heavenly added to their pass. Heavenly Passes will now offer access to Northstar and Sierra with some restricted dates, primarily mid-season Saturdays at Northstar. Colorado Passes will now feature five free days of skiing and riding at either Heavenly or Northstar with some restricted dates. Those skiers and riders who opted for a Northstar-only or Sierra-only season pass, or Vail Resorts’ Summit Pass, will experience no change in their access privileges. Vail Resorts’ EpicMix social media application will not function at Northstar this winter.
Northstar is home to a new base area village featuring 35 shops and restaurants in more than 100,000 square feet of commercial retail space, a conference center, a 9,000-square-foot skating rink, on-site lodging, special events and more. The Ritz-Carlton Highlands, Lake Tahoe opened mid-mountain last winter. The mountain offers 19 lifts, 92 ski trails spread across 3,000 acres, snowmaking that covers 50 percent of the ski trails, seven terrain parks and snow sports including alpine and telemark skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and tubing. Summer activities include mountain biking, golfing, scenic lift rides for sightseeing and hiking, fly-fishing and more. During the 2009-10 ski season, Northstar-at-Tahoe saw more than 700,000 skier visits.
George Gillett, chief executive officer and majority partner of Booth Creek, Chris Ryman, president and chief operating officer, and Betsy Cole, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Booth Creek, will no longer have management positions at Northstar-at-Tahoe. Vail Resorts announced that Julie Maurer, vice president of marketing and sales at Booth Creek will immediately become a vice president of marketing with Vail Resorts, overseeing the marketing and sales of both Heavenly Mountain Resort and Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort. Vail Resorts announced that it will begin an immediate search for a new general manager of Northstar-at-Tahoe, which will include both internal and external candidates.
“I want to thank George, the Gillett family, Chris and Betsy for their vision and leadership in bringing the Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort to world-class status over these past years,” said Katz. “We are incredibly excited to bring the entire Northstar team into the Vail Resorts family. They have all been responsible for one of the great success stories in the mountain resort industry today.”
“We would like to recognize everyone on the Northstar-at-Tahoe team for their invaluable contributions to the success of this resort. We are proud to have been associated with such a talented group of individuals,” said Ryman and Cole.
“Chris, Betsy and the entire Northstar-at-Tahoe team have created an incredible success story in the resort industry. My family and I are proud to have been associated with Northstar-at-Tahoe over the past 14 years,” said Gillett.