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Gunstock Sees Private Partnership As Path To Its Future
By Roger Leo
May 18, 2009
The ability of venerable, county-owned Gunstock Mountain Resort in Gilford, N.H., to remain robust rests on being able to expand into a four-season operation, General Manager Greg Goddard toldThe Industry Report.
Belknap County - Gunstock's owner - has made the necessary investments over the years in new lifts, snowmaking and grooming. There's no money or interest in investing taxpayer money in a resort hotel development, however, so if it were to happen, the money would have to come from other sources and that means the private sector, Goddard said.
That approach hinges on state permission to allow the public operator to engage a private partner to build a hotel on 100 acres adjoining the ski slopes. A bill to approve such a partnership is working its way through the New Hampshire Legislature, and appears on track for passage.
Most of Gunstock Mountain Resort's 1,900 acres cannot be developed for anything but public recreation, anyway, Goddard said, as the area's charter requires the land be used only for that purpose. He said development can occur only on the 100-acre Alpine Ridge area, acquired by Gunstock in 1998, and only with capital invested by a private partner.
The public share will come through providing the land and affiliation with a resort that sees about 180,000 skier visits a year.
"It's likely we'll have the mechanism in place soon to start working with potential partners," Goddard said last week. His optimism is based on recent approval by the House of allowing Gunstock to enter into a partnership deal, and expected approval in the Senate.
Next would come public hearings on the plan and, if the voters concur, the actual partnership.
Goddard said the whole process could take two to three years.
"With the economy, people are not jumping into new projects," Goddard said, "so we have the luxury of this economic downtime to get our ducks in a row and do our planning."
Goddard and Gunstock will not be breaking new ground, in one sense, as public-private partnerships have a long track record in management of public resources, including ski resorts. Each such partnership has its own characteristics.
For example, the State of New Hampshire owns two ski areas, Cannon Mountain in Franconia, and Sunapee Mountain Resort in Newbury. Sunapee is managed by Tim and Diane Mueller, operators of Okemo in Vermont and Crested Butte in Colorado, under a long-term lease; New Hampshire continues to operate Cannon directly, but uses revenues from the Sunapee lease to pay for improvements there.
In Massachusetts, private operators run Wachusett Mountain Ski Area in Princeton, and Blue Hills Ski Area in Milton. Local operators run Wachusett is under a long-term lease, while Ski Campgaw of New Jersey runs Blue Hills under a short-term permit.
Goddard is a Gilford native, living now in the house where he grew up on Lake Winnipesaukee. He has been at Gunstock since 1980, first as a bartender working his way through college, then from 1985 as financial manager of a three-year, $10-million modernization project that put in all new lifts, extensive snowmaking additions, trail work and new lodge.
He became general manager in 1998 and, since then, managed a $3.8-million expansion in 2003 that moved a fixed-grip summit chair to serve a new terrain park, and added a high-speed summit quad, new trails, and more snowmaking.
A third project, the $3.2-million expansion of the beginner area, installation of a new quad and doubling of snowmaking capacity, is under way this summer.
What It Means: Gunstock Mountain Resort believes that partnership with a private investor is the only way to finance an expansion into year-round operations it believes vital to sustain its success going forward. Others have made similar partnerships work, and in changing economic conditions they may hold a key to the future for publicly owned resorts of all sizes.
and...
Gunstock Area commissioner gets green light for 5 more years
Laconia:
By GAIL OBER
gober@citizen.com
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Engineer Robert Durfee of Laconia will continue as one of five Gunstock Area Commissioners after eight of 15 members of the Belknap County Delegation present at Monday's session chose him. This will be his second five-year term.
Coming in a close second was Cris Blackstone of Alton, who forced the delegation to a second ballot after neither she nor Durfee received a majority on the first ballot.
Also receiving first-ballot votes was Belmont small-business owner David Varney. A fourth contender, former Laconia City Councilor David Gammon, also made a presentation to the delegation.
The five-member Area Commission, whose members are named by the Council Delegation, sets policy for the recreation facility and oversees the work of the area's management.
Durfee told the delegation his goals for the next five years remain very similar to his goals of five years ago — making Gunstock Mountain Resort a four-season destination spot that will generate income and enjoyment for the residents of Belknap County.
He said in the past five years Gunstock has been able to maintain full-time employees year round and his efforts over the next five years will be to continue to bring more events into Gunstock during the summer.
He said events like SoulFest and the New Hampshire Road Agents not only provide income to the resort but also contribute capital to the resort that remains after the events have ended.
He remains committed to expanding opportunities for equity-partnerships and said the commission has examined an equestrian center and golf as some of the options. He would also like to see lifts expanded into the former Alpine Ridge or Mount Rowe Ski Area — a suggestion Gammon, a life-long skier, also recommended.
One of his short-term goals is investigating the possibility of adding air conditioning to the base or main lodge to be more competitive with other venues that offer weddings and similar events during the summer.
Durfee said he would like to see more nearby hotel accommodations and to expand the camping facilities for people who camp in RV's as opposed to the predominately tent camping offered currently.
None of the candidates said they would support building individual homes in the resort like many of the bigger Western resorts have done, though Durfee said the commission should be attuned to trends and to capitalize on them when practical and possible.
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Feel free to comment... I like it, bring back Alpine Ridge
not to mention a new hotel in that area would certainly work too.
By Roger Leo
May 18, 2009
The ability of venerable, county-owned Gunstock Mountain Resort in Gilford, N.H., to remain robust rests on being able to expand into a four-season operation, General Manager Greg Goddard toldThe Industry Report.
Belknap County - Gunstock's owner - has made the necessary investments over the years in new lifts, snowmaking and grooming. There's no money or interest in investing taxpayer money in a resort hotel development, however, so if it were to happen, the money would have to come from other sources and that means the private sector, Goddard said.
That approach hinges on state permission to allow the public operator to engage a private partner to build a hotel on 100 acres adjoining the ski slopes. A bill to approve such a partnership is working its way through the New Hampshire Legislature, and appears on track for passage.
Most of Gunstock Mountain Resort's 1,900 acres cannot be developed for anything but public recreation, anyway, Goddard said, as the area's charter requires the land be used only for that purpose. He said development can occur only on the 100-acre Alpine Ridge area, acquired by Gunstock in 1998, and only with capital invested by a private partner.
The public share will come through providing the land and affiliation with a resort that sees about 180,000 skier visits a year.
"It's likely we'll have the mechanism in place soon to start working with potential partners," Goddard said last week. His optimism is based on recent approval by the House of allowing Gunstock to enter into a partnership deal, and expected approval in the Senate.
Next would come public hearings on the plan and, if the voters concur, the actual partnership.
Goddard said the whole process could take two to three years.
"With the economy, people are not jumping into new projects," Goddard said, "so we have the luxury of this economic downtime to get our ducks in a row and do our planning."
Goddard and Gunstock will not be breaking new ground, in one sense, as public-private partnerships have a long track record in management of public resources, including ski resorts. Each such partnership has its own characteristics.
For example, the State of New Hampshire owns two ski areas, Cannon Mountain in Franconia, and Sunapee Mountain Resort in Newbury. Sunapee is managed by Tim and Diane Mueller, operators of Okemo in Vermont and Crested Butte in Colorado, under a long-term lease; New Hampshire continues to operate Cannon directly, but uses revenues from the Sunapee lease to pay for improvements there.
In Massachusetts, private operators run Wachusett Mountain Ski Area in Princeton, and Blue Hills Ski Area in Milton. Local operators run Wachusett is under a long-term lease, while Ski Campgaw of New Jersey runs Blue Hills under a short-term permit.
Goddard is a Gilford native, living now in the house where he grew up on Lake Winnipesaukee. He has been at Gunstock since 1980, first as a bartender working his way through college, then from 1985 as financial manager of a three-year, $10-million modernization project that put in all new lifts, extensive snowmaking additions, trail work and new lodge.
He became general manager in 1998 and, since then, managed a $3.8-million expansion in 2003 that moved a fixed-grip summit chair to serve a new terrain park, and added a high-speed summit quad, new trails, and more snowmaking.
A third project, the $3.2-million expansion of the beginner area, installation of a new quad and doubling of snowmaking capacity, is under way this summer.
What It Means: Gunstock Mountain Resort believes that partnership with a private investor is the only way to finance an expansion into year-round operations it believes vital to sustain its success going forward. Others have made similar partnerships work, and in changing economic conditions they may hold a key to the future for publicly owned resorts of all sizes.
and...
Gunstock Area commissioner gets green light for 5 more years
Laconia:
By GAIL OBER
gober@citizen.com
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Engineer Robert Durfee of Laconia will continue as one of five Gunstock Area Commissioners after eight of 15 members of the Belknap County Delegation present at Monday's session chose him. This will be his second five-year term.
Coming in a close second was Cris Blackstone of Alton, who forced the delegation to a second ballot after neither she nor Durfee received a majority on the first ballot.
Also receiving first-ballot votes was Belmont small-business owner David Varney. A fourth contender, former Laconia City Councilor David Gammon, also made a presentation to the delegation.
The five-member Area Commission, whose members are named by the Council Delegation, sets policy for the recreation facility and oversees the work of the area's management.
Durfee told the delegation his goals for the next five years remain very similar to his goals of five years ago — making Gunstock Mountain Resort a four-season destination spot that will generate income and enjoyment for the residents of Belknap County.
He said in the past five years Gunstock has been able to maintain full-time employees year round and his efforts over the next five years will be to continue to bring more events into Gunstock during the summer.
He said events like SoulFest and the New Hampshire Road Agents not only provide income to the resort but also contribute capital to the resort that remains after the events have ended.
He remains committed to expanding opportunities for equity-partnerships and said the commission has examined an equestrian center and golf as some of the options. He would also like to see lifts expanded into the former Alpine Ridge or Mount Rowe Ski Area — a suggestion Gammon, a life-long skier, also recommended.
One of his short-term goals is investigating the possibility of adding air conditioning to the base or main lodge to be more competitive with other venues that offer weddings and similar events during the summer.
Durfee said he would like to see more nearby hotel accommodations and to expand the camping facilities for people who camp in RV's as opposed to the predominately tent camping offered currently.
None of the candidates said they would support building individual homes in the resort like many of the bigger Western resorts have done, though Durfee said the commission should be attuned to trends and to capitalize on them when practical and possible.
----
Feel free to comment... I like it, bring back Alpine Ridge
not to mention a new hotel in that area would certainly work too.
