The official "Ski Area Resurrection Business Plan"

Ok now, a lot of you apparently like "old school" ski areas and shun corporation-run areas. Let's have a little competition: Come up with a business plan to resurrect a closed or troubled mountain: Haystack, Pico, Whaleback, etc- let's see who come make the numbers work. Cash Flow Projection, Fixed Costs, Variable Costs, Contingincy PLans, etc should all be included. The winning plan will be allowed to meet me in person and ski with me for a day(You buy the lift tickets of course). Maybe you will become SO inspired you will actually go out and buy Maple Valley and give us a new place to slide! Talk is cheap, whining is even cheaper - let's see those business plans, gang! :lol:

This could be a fun topic.....Here is my shot at it:

Not that I would ever do this, but if I were to purchase a ski area I first would look at the balance sheet of the area for the past 7 years. The next step is to hire a consultant to help organize the needed steps from inspection to closing. From there contract a company who specializes in ski area equipment to assess the condition of the infrastructure. At the same time check for an outstanding liens against the property and check the tax records. Once we have an idea of the "condition" of the property including costs to refurbish / upgrade we will then contract a engineering company (one that specializes in ski area operations and put together a feasibility study to see if the ski area would succeed. Once this is completed a proposal would be drafted to show the ST and LT plan of the area if it was to be purchased and put into operation. At this time we can then see if we can negotiate the "rights" to operate the ski area. I mean is the property for sale, lease, privately owned, bank owned, etc. What ever the negotiated price / arrangement is to gain control of the property would be put into the business plan to show to "investors" and the bank.. I would knowingly have to raise capital either through networking my proposal or by my own funds. Once I have the capital in escrow I would go to the bank and show them the business plan and pray I get approved for a loan to operate the ski area.

Chris Bradford of Snowjournal.com had a plan lined up for Crotched, before it was bought by Peak Resorts, but I don't think he's registered here.

Not claiming to have a good idea, but here is my shot.

Open whaleback, nights BOARDING ONLY with awesome terrain park to include video cameras. Focus on terrain park snow, take snow from shopping centers parking lots or something. Save money on patroling and snow making & get good insurance. I would also do something interesting with a poma.

Put a McDonald's on every peak. Charge Gilette stadium prices.

:lol:

-T

the8re....I have to disagree with you wanting to put a McDonalds on every peak. I would rather see a Subway. They generate much less waste (energy, packaging, etc) in the preperation of the food. Less waste on the peak is a good thing.

Plus with Subway you get the stamps to accumulate to get a free 6 inch sub...

skijay said:

the8re....I have to disagree with you wanting to put a McDonalds on every peak. I would rather see a Subway. They generate much less waste (energy, packaging, etc) in the preperation of the food. Less waste on the peak is a good thing.

Plus with Subway you get the stamps to accumulate to get a free 6 inch sub...

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And the Atkins wraps...nice idea.

Heck, make it an olive garden.

-T

Nothing to sink my teeth into yet. Purchase Price? Financing? Raising of capital? Projected Cash Flow? Fixed costs? Marketing strategy?

ASC said:

Nothing to sink my teeth into yet. Purchase Price? Financing? Raising of capital? Projected Cash Flow? Fixed costs? Marketing strategy?

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Ok here are some crazy stupid ideas.

For financing, I would consider a cooperative type deal like MRG for an all boarding night skiing small hill. GIve out shares/discount/voting rights or something to get capital. I don't know I'm not a finanical wizard I'm just a computer geek.

As far as raising captial/financing, I would consider an alternative approach to ticketing. Not that I know it would work or that this would help with startup captial but it might depending on how you promoted it. Then again you need captial to start promoting it. But something more along the lines of a season pass guaranteeing you so many ski days with the ability to carry them over to the next season as a minimum and a maximum ski days whereby you would renew. Or perhaps yet another alternative pricing program similar to a heatlh club with monthy membership.

Maybe sell snowboarding insurance. I'd find a way to offer regular free clinics and lessons to all paid guests.

Here's a crazy idea. How about Indoor or underground snowboarding? Perhaps connect to the mountain at the bottom down a tunnel into a sweet little terrain park with rails and crazy stuff. Blow man made in there and refrigerate it for year round snowboarding.

ASC said:

Nothing to sink my teeth into yet. Purchase Price? Financing? Raising of capital? Projected Cash Flow? Fixed costs? Marketing strategy?

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No, i will NOT do your business school homework for you!! :lol:

jlangdale said:

Perhaps connect to the mountain at the bottom down a tunnel into a sweet little terrain park with rails and crazy stuff. Blow man made in there and refrigerate it for year round snowboarding.

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underground's interestng, a bit different, but indoor slopes are really expensive to build/run, and several around the world have failed or never gotten off the ground only a few have done well.

the8re said:

Put a McDonald's on every peak. Charge Gilette stadium prices.

:lol:

-T

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How about a nice a cafe with cream of garlic soup and spinich dumplings? :beer: Sorry, way off topic here.

jlangdale said:

Open whaleback, nights BOARDING ONLY with awesome terrain park to include video cameras.

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Continuing on that thought of video cameras, how about setting up a system of "surveillance" cameras that also have tag detectors on the trails. Skiers and riders who are interested in tracking themselves on the system can get a remote tag (like E-Z Pass) and at the end of the day (or run), they can flip through their own personal video because they system knows when to cut from one camera to the next for each tag user. This would also be great for families and groups who want to keep track of each other. Users would pay a fee for the service and a deposit for the tag.

Nice little differentiating factor, but economically feasible? Dunno.

To jlangdale... You should check out what the Japanese do if you're interested in indoor/underground. On the Travel Channel I saw a feature on an indoor ski area in Japan. Crowded, sure, but you can ski just about any time of the year. (Of course, that's in the same country that has an indoor beach as well, complete with wave pools and waterpark.)

Walmart vs. Ma&Pa

So, I haven't gotten sucked into this one as it holds little interest for me. I am glad someone is running the ski areas and willing to take the risks and sink the big bucks into them. If it weren't ASC, it would be someone else. I pay my money, do my skiing, thank my higher power that I still can, and I don't complain about it.

This is somewhat like the Walmart vs the Ma&Pa shop type of business issue. At Walmart you usually get something cheaper. You don't get the service, and you don't get the fee advice or the special help you might need, but for your basic gallon of paint, laundry detergent, or snow shovel, you are hard pressed to get it anywhere else cheaper.

The Ma & Pa shops have to do something different to stay in business; to add value, and even then they fail in many cases. The Internet has saved many of them.. and eBay has saved a few... but long gone seem to be the really nice specialty shop where you can get BOTH a good price and high quality product.

I'm not sure that you can take that same analogy over to ski areas though. Between the huge investment required for all of the property and capital equipment and the huge labor costs of maintaining same, and then the high risks and costs of things like insurance.. it's a tough business in the best of snow years.. especially here in the east.

I'd love to open a ski area thay had low costs lift tickets, valet parking, plenty of room in the lodge for eveyones gear.. low prices for great specialty food from local diners (DOT's in Wilmington comes to mind) and P&H homemade breads and pies.

There would be no lift lines, to speak of (but I haven't got a clue how I'm accomplishing this with such low prices) and the snow would be prefect every day.

Lots of good night clubs would surround the access road with your choice of music and entertainment, lots of great restaurants and every hotle/motel room would have a plasma big screen TV, a large outdoor jacuzzi on the deck and a high end audio system built in.

I would still have T-bars and Poma lifts for those that prefer to live in yesteryear like yours-truly.. of course I would be doing the loading personally.

Think I'd be successful?

So, I haven't gotten sucked into this one as it holds little interest for me. I am glad someone is running the ski areas and willing to take the risks and sink the big bucks into them. If it weren't ASC, it would be someone else. I pay my money, do my skiing, thank my higher power that I still can, and I don't complain about it.

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THAT'S what I'm talkin' 'bout! POTY!!!

Re: The official "Ski Area Resurrection Business Plan&q

ASC said:

Ok now, a lot of you apparently like "old school" ski areas and shun corporation-run areas. Let's have a little competition: Come up with a business plan to resurrect a closed or troubled mountain: Haystack, Pico, Whaleback, etc- let's see who come make the numbers work. Cash Flow Projection, Fixed Costs, Variable Costs, Contingincy PLans, etc should all be included. The winning plan will be allowed to meet me in person and ski with me for a day(You buy the lift tickets of course). Maybe you will become SO inspired you will actually go out and buy Maple Valley and give us a new place to slide! Talk is cheap, whining is even cheaper - let's see those business plans, gang! :lol:

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Ummmm, Is'nt pico owned by the condo building ,cash poor Co ASC?
two to go!

Do you have a business plan you would like to share with everyone?