Saddleback Maine for Sale!

[salsgang]

Saddleback has always been intriguing to me, but the drive from Mass is pretty brutal, with somewhat lousy roads. I've always found Sugarloaf to be much easier to get to. It must be tough to attract a lot of skier visits to Saddleback.

That certainly is the perception but it really isn't true anymore. They have redone most of Route 4 from Farmington to Rangeley so it is a much better drive. It is honestly a 2 hr 10 min drive from Freeport. Only 10 minutes longer than Sugarloaf. And you can drop your crap right at the Lodge at Saddleback and avoid the shuttle schlep so it is a net even travel distance in my book.

 

[Masskier]

How far from Boston?

 

[deadheadskier]

230 miles. 4-4.5 hours.

 

[salsgang]

230 miles. 4-4.5 hours.

That's about right. It is about 2 hours from my house to the North Station area of Beantown. a bit over 2 hours from my house to Saddleback. (I live in Freeport)

 

[xwhaler]

Nice report...I love Saddleback so will be watching closely to any news that comes from the sale. Route 4 really has been improved considerably so anyone coming from the south will get the Loaf or Saddleback in the same time basically.

Nice that they got Coachman going for opening day....typically its Ghost then Weaver then one of the Devils. Would be awesome if they could somehow get the Kennebago going for x-mas/vacation week but that's probably too optimistic.

 

[tipsdown]

The timing of this is certainly interesting considering didn't Saddleback just receive approval for EB-5 investment?

I personally don't think it will sell if the Berry's intend on keeping 7600 of the 8000 acres. That sounds to me like they want to rid themselves of the greatest cost liability (the ski area operation), yet retain Saddleback's greatest potential asset; land for real estate development.

If they were willing to part with all of the property, I could see a company like CNL potentially being interested in purchasing it and leasing out the resort operations.

The timing is interesting. But they've got some momentum right now, especially with the EB-5 in place. They've received a lot of ink recently and their street cred with the "skiers" (i.e. this forum) is at an all time high. But they know they're going to have to relinquish a good chunk if not all of those 8000 acres. The offer sounds like a starting point to me. If your a buyer, your doing the deal because of the untapped potential. Without all that land the potential is drastically diminished. And it will sell. Sure, its out of the way from the masses. Doesn't matter, investors buy potential. It's always been that way and it always will be that way. And no ski area in the east has more of it than Saddleback. Fact not Opinion.

Its like the old #1 draft pick who hasn't YET put it all together. There's ALWAYS someone that will pick them up because they think they can make it work. For all of us skiers...hopefully they do.

 

[soposkier]

That certainly is the perception but it really isn't true anymore. They have redone most of Route 4 from Farmington to Rangeley so it is a much better drive. It is honestly a 2 hr 10 min drive from Freeport. Only 10 minutes longer than Sugarloaf. And you can drop your crap right at the Lodge at Saddleback and avoid the shuttle schlep so it is a net even travel distance in my book.

Agreed, Route 17 is also new now for almost the entire stretch from Mexico to Oqussoc if you opt for that route. One of the most scenic drives around.

 

[deadheadskier]

The timing is interesting. But they've got some momentum right now, especially with the EB-5 in place. They've received a lot of ink recently and their street cred with the "skiers" (i.e. this forum) is at an all time high. But they know they're going to have to relinquish a good chunk if not all of those 8000 acres. The offer sounds like a starting point to me. If your a buyer, your doing the deal because of the untapped potential. Without all that land the potential is drastically diminished. And it will sell. Sure, its out of the way from the masses. Doesn't matter, investors buy potential. It's always been that way and it always will be that way. And no ski area in the east has more of it than Saddleback. Fact not Opinion.

Its like the old #1 draft pick who hasn't YET put it all together. There's ALWAYS someone that will pick them up because they think they can make it work. For all of us skiers...hopefully they do.

I'm sure it will sell, but it may take awhile. Look at the math here. The Berry's pumped $40M into the area and are trying to get $12M back. That means they would have had to made a profit of $28M over the past ten years just to have broken even on their investment. Despite the investment, the reported high number for skier visits is 97K. At the bargain prices they charge and with so few skier visits, I doubt they've broken even unless there was a lot of profit made from condo development.

You are right that Saddleback's land holdings, does give it the most growth potential of any eastern ski area. But land potential doesn't always equal profit potential. I'd need to see the books obviously, but I think the Berry's are figuring that out, hence why they're trying to dump the ski operation.

Best thing for Saddleback would be for it to be purchased by another family like the Berry's who are passionate about the sport and the Rangeley area; and are willing to invest tremendous capital knowing that the returns will be minimal if any at all for many years. Those people are hard to come by.

 

[bigbog]

.....So who can do this?
..........Saddleback is a tough sell due to location but the mountain has momentum, good stats, improving visibility, and a great variety of terrain. I can't see it not going the distance at this point but I don't think the Berry family is going to have offers thrown at them either.

Thought VW made payments pretty affordable, leaving their customers to partake in other venues riv​..?...LOL...only ~$12M..
Just my $.01 but the fact that wholesale cutting might not be taking place leaves a smile on my face...

 

[salsgang]

The Berry's today sent out an email to the Saddleback email list in regards to the reasons behind the sale and some thoughts about turning Saddleback into a non-profit. It is a good read. You can read the note in its entirety on my blog:

http://maineskifamily.blogspot.com/2012/12/saddleback-sale-note-from-berry-family.html

 

[Edd]

That's about right. It is about 2 hours from my house to the North Station area of Beantown. a bit over 2 hours from my house to Saddleback. (I live in Freeport)

Salsgang, what route do you take from Freeport to Farmington?

 

[salsgang]

Salsgang, what route do you take from Freeport to Farmington?

I295 up to Augusta then 27.

 

[BenedictGomez]

I Look at the math here. The Berry's pumped $40M into the area and are trying to get $12M back.

Good Lord in heaven, that's a bloodbath. Unless they view the true value in the purchase to be the land they're retaining somehow.

 

[tipsdown]

Best thing for Saddleback would be for it to be purchased by another family like the Berry's who are passionate about the sport and the Rangeley area; and are willing to invest tremendous capital knowing that the returns will be minimal if any at all for many years. Those people are hard to come by.

That probably is the best scenario but the more likely one would be the former you had mentioned earlier. Get the backing from a corporation and have it managed by a group thats got a pulse on the mountain and the area. It will be interesting to see if Warren Cook makes another run at it. He tried to put a deal together a couple years ago but it didn't work. My guess is he could get the backing. Plus he's from here and he knows the industry...

 

[salsgang]

That probably is the best scenario but the more likely one would be the former you had mentioned earlier. Get the backing from a corporation and have it managed by a group thats got a pulse on the mountain and the area. It will be interesting to see if Warren Cook makes another run at it. He tried to put a deal together a couple years ago but it didn't work. My guess is he could get the backing. Plus he's from here and he knows the industry...

According to the original Portland Press Herald article Cook was not interested. Eric Cianchette of the Cianbro clan is interested but I wonder why the listing broker would offer up his name as being interested. Stir the pot I guess...

 

[deadheadskier]

Les Otten still interested in the ski business? He could make a lot of wood pellets from those 8K acres. :lol:

Didn't L.L. Bean kick the tires on Sunday River and Sugarloaf when they were being liquidated from ASC also?

I'm not sure how viable a non-profit approach would be when it's questionable if the area is able to break even. You would need a significant trust to be able to carry the place during lean years.

Truthfully, I think the best thing for Saddleback in the long run would be an increase in population in the Portland and Augusta areas. When I lived in Portland, I skied almost exclusively in Maine except for going over to Wildcat. Even when I had an ASC pass, I didn't bother going over to Attitash because 302 is PITA. I rarely returned back to VT to ski because it was PITA to travel all the way down 95, cross over 101 and then head back up to VT. Guess what I'm saying is, if you live in Maine from Portland on North, you're going to primarily ski at Maine Ski Areas. It's different here in NH. Some ski NH, some head to VT, some head to Maine; same goes for Boston. Problem is that the Portland to Augusta corridor is such a small market and not a very affluent one either.

I really wish the Berry's had taken a shot with the deep ball and replaced the double with HSQ and heavily marketed their great character cruising trails on the mid-mountain that it would service. Unless you're MRG, a 2K vert mountain needs such a lift to be competitive. I think it would've been a better investment than installing the Kennebago Quad and heavily marketing their expert terrain like they have.

Hope it works out for the best for those that call the place home. I've only been there once and it was on a bad day, but I can see why people love it so much. Great mountain for sure.

 

[C-Rex]

How about all the AZ peeps get together and buy it. We could have our own private moutain...

 

[speden]

I'd be happy to chip in if the price includes the cost of shipping it to my backyard.

 

[tipsdown]

According to the original Portland Press Herald article Cook was not interested. Eric Cianchette of the Cianbro clan is interested but I wonder why the listing broker would offer up his name as being interested. Stir the pot I guess...

I did see that. He very well may not be intererested. But even if he was there would be nothing to gain by saying he was so I more or less disregarded it for the same reason Eric Chianchette's being floated out there doesn't seem to mean very much.

My guess is someone with Maine roots will be involved (at least on the management/operational in a deal....side) in the deal.

Hopefully there will be some answers in the foreesable future!

 

[AdironRider]

I dont see the current owners just eating 28 million. Not unheard of, but doubtful considering 12 mill is their starting point. Most likely sells for under 10.

Off the cuff thats most likely debt included with the sale, hence the reduced asking price for the acreage and condo units theyre selling.