Stratton loses Burton US open to Vail

[dropKickMurphy]

xx

 

[AdironRider]

Bout time.

 

[Nick]

This is pretty big news right? Burton leaving their home state to go for the bigger, glitzier out west mountain? What are the benefits for switching to CO?

More info from the news: http://business-news.thestreet.com/...us-open-comes-vail-after-30-years-vermont-0/1

 

[drjeff]

Guess I'll be able to get some pics of the US Open then, since the week that it will be in Vail is the week that I just booked to head out there last week

 

[steamboat1]

They also moved production out of VT. a couple of years ago..

http://www.theskichannel.com/news/2...-moving-production-facilities-out-of-vermont/

 

[AdironRider]

Burton really doesnt do shit in Vermont these days. I think they have a small office there still, but pretty much everything has been shipped off shore or elsewhere.

Burton is a worldwide company these days, I wouldnt put up with the bullshit of VT for as long as they did in the first place (in a business sense).

 

[deadheadskier]

Burton really doesnt do shit in Vermont these days. I think they have a small office there still, but pretty much everything has been shipped off shore or elsewhere.

Burton is a worldwide company these days, I wouldnt put up with the bullshit of VT for as long as they did in the first place (in a business sense).

Not a small office. Still a few hundred employees. That's a significantly large employer in the State of Vermont.

 

[drjeff]

Burton really doesnt do shit in Vermont these days. I think they have a small office there still, but pretty much everything has been shipped off shore or elsewhere.

Burton is a worldwide company these days, I wouldnt put up with the bullshit of VT for as long as they did in the first place (in a business sense).

Not a small office. Still a few hundred employees. That's a significantly large employer in the State of Vermont.

Corporate HQ is in Burlington, and also some of their R&D is based their too (Mainly for their team sponsored athletes). I know that a couple of weeks ago I played in the Kelly Clark Foundation Golf Tourney at Haystack Golf Course, and when Kelly was walking around the dinner tables after to thank all the participants personally, she mentioned to one of my playing partners, who she grew up with in the Mount Snow area, that she was off the next morning to Burlington to meet with the Burton corporate folks, before flying out to Los Angeles to go to the ESPY's and then a couple of weeks off out in Mammoth where she now lives and trains before getting ready to fly off to New Zeland for some snow training. I'm guessing based on that press release that a side trip to Vail got added to her schedule too Then again she does draw quite a nice paycheck from Burton, so i'm sure she was more than happy to attend the announcement!

 

[AdironRider]

Not a small office. Still a few hundred employees. That's a significantly large employer in the State of Vermont.

Interesting. Word out here when the manufacturing was shipped out was that it was well below that number.

But the notion that they are a "vermont" company and therefor should hold the US Open there just doesnt apply IMO given their size and scope. I'd be surprised if the majority of their customers even know they are from VT in the first place.

 

[ADKme]

Guess I'll be able to get some pics of the US Open then, since the week that it will be in Vail is the week that I just booked to head out there last week

I too just booked flights for that week in Colorado and was planning on being in Vail. Do I want to be around that event or will it clog up the slopes and town with teenage riff raff? Southwest is easy to switch flights.

 

[deadheadskier]

Interesting. Word out here when the manufacturing was shipped out was that it was well below that number.

But the notion that they are a "vermont" company and therefor should hold the US Open there just doesnt apply IMO given their size and scope. I'd be surprised if the majority of their customers even know they are from VT in the first place.

I can get an update as from my friend who has worked in marketing for them in Btown for a decade, but last I had the conversation with her, she said there was still going to be a few hundred employees in Btown. That conversation was around the time of the manufacturing move as I was concerned for her job.

Personally, I value history. Regardless of whether they are a "global company" now vs a "vermont company"; Stratton is where it all began. So, I've always had an appreciation for the event being held there pretty every single year except for a few early years at I believe Suicide Six.

That said, I haven't been to the Open since the late 90s (used to go every year) so, I'm not going to JOAB over their decision to move it.

 

[jimmywilson69]

I too just booked flights for that week in Colorado and was planning on being in Vail. Do I want to be around that event or will it clog up the slopes and town with teenage riff raff? Southwest is easy to switch flights.

Vail is big you will be fine. besides you want to ski in the back bowls and blue sky basin anyways. you can ski "trails" back east...

 

[ADKme]

Vail is big you will be fine. besides you want to ski in the back bowls and blue sky basin anyways. you can ski "trails" back east...

I spent a couple years in CO; I'll head straight to the bowls and blue sky. But will the event bring a rowdier crowd? What was it like at Stratton?

 

[Nick]

Like Bike Week in New Hampshire? :lol:

 

[drjeff]

I too just booked flights for that week in Colorado and was planning on being in Vail. Do I want to be around that event or will it clog up the slopes and town with teenage riff raff? Southwest is easy to switch flights.

I've never been to the US Open before, but I did attend 2 Dew Tour stops when they were at Mount Snow. If the US Open is anything like that, then no big deal at all. You'll have a bunch of tents, some stages, a bunch of TV cameras and associated gear set up around the 1/2 pipe and slopestyle courses, and then maybe some extra assorted tents and merchandise sale areas either in/around the base area or competition sites (if the comp venues don't end in the base area), and then you'll get some free outdoor concerts, etc associated with the event. What also tends to happen is the qualifier events, atleast for the 1/2 pipe, are during the day and then the finals are under the lights at night, making for some fun viewing after the lifts are closed. In the big scheme of things considering that Vail has about 7,000 acres of terrain, the competition venues and associated US Open village area might take up 10-15 acres tops, and then as the article eluded to it's been held at what historically is a "slow" week for Vail, chances are once your out of earshot from the speaker system you won't even know that the US Open is going on

 

[vdk03]

I spent a couple years in CO; I'll head straight to the bowls and blue sky. But will the event bring a rowdier crowd? What was it like at Stratton?

When Stratton used to hold the open on the front side right in front of Grizzlys it would get pretty rowdy, but ever since they moved it over to the sunbowl it has been mellowed quite a bit. This is also probably because of ramped up security too.

Sent from my C771 using Tapatalk

 

[drjeff]

Like Bike Week in New Hampshire? :lol:

Nah, while the average number of tattoos per participant might be similar, the total amount of surface area available per participant will be far less at the US Open than at Laconia! :lol: