Seven Springs sale to Vail Resorts seen as possible boost to tourism
The planned sale of Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Champion to a Colorado company with 37 ski resorts across 15 states and three countries has the potential to bring more tourists to the Laurel Highlands from many other locations through the buyer’s seasonal pass, a regional tourism official said.
“We’ve got a tremendous opportunity to bring people to the Laurel Highlands. We can have people coming (to the Laurel Highlands) from across the nation and even globally,” said Ann Nemanic, executive director of GO Laurel Highlands, the state’s official marketing organization for tourism in Westmoreland, Somerset and Fayette counties.
The excitement about expanding the region’s tourism industry — Seven Springs already attracts skiers from the Washington, D.C., area — was generated by Pittsburgh Pirates owner Bob Nutting’s announcement Wednesday that he reached an agreement with Vail Resorts Inc. to sell Seven Springs, as well as his Hidden Valley and Laurel Mountain ski resorts. The sale for $125 million, subject to certain adjustments, should be finalized by the end of the ski season.
Seven Springs, a year-round resort, has become “a paramount property for us to market, year-round,” Nemanic said.
The three resorts Nutting owns are in the heart of the Laurel Highlands: Laurel Mountain is in eastern Westmoreland County; Hidden Valley is in Somerset County; and Seven Springs is along the Somerset-Fayette border. Under Nutting, “those assets were improved,” Nemanic said. Nutting will maintain control of the golf clubs at Hidden Valley and Seven Springs, Highlands Resort Realty and certain real estate development rights, which could mean more vacation homes.
Seven Springs Mountain Resort was an attractive acquisition because it is a “destination point,” Vail Resorts said.
“Our approach is to create a network of resorts outside of major metropolitan areas. That is where there is a significant population of skiers and (snow)boarders living,” Kirsten Lynch, new CEO of Vail Resorts Inc. of Broomfield, Colo., told analysts last week in an earnings call for the quarter ending Oct. 31.
Lynch said the organization focuses on ski areas that are not just a day outing, but a regional destination. Vail Resorts is looking at Seven Springs’ market area as being as close as Pittsburgh and as far away as Washington, D.C., and Baltimore to the south and Cleveland to the northwest. Hidden Valley and Seven Springs have lodging on the property. Operators of Laurel Mountain Ski Area, located within the Laurel Mountain State Park, are not permitted by the state to create overnight accommodations on the site.
The state owns the land at Laurel Mountain, but Nutting’s Seven Springs Mountain Resort owns the assets — such as the ski lodge and trail lifts. Nutting had a 10-year lease with the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources that he signed in 2009.
Vail Resorts will assume the 35-year lease that The Springs at Laurel Mountain LLC signed with the state in October 2018, said Wes Robinson, a conservation department spokesman. Vail will be required to pay $34,000 each November, plus an additional $3,000 to $15,000 on May 15, based on skier visits each season, Robinson said.
“Seven Springs hit all of the criteria that we look at in terms of a regional destination,” said Michael Barkin, Vail Resorts’ chief financial officer. The company feels “real good” about the profile for a return on its investment, Barkin said.
Vail Resorts anticipates the acquisition of the ski resorts will generate $15 million in earnings before interest, depreciation and amortization, in the winter of 2022-23. Vail Resorts lost $142 million in the first quarter of the fiscal year, despite generating $175 million in revenue, according to its financial report.
Company officials said they anticipate Vail Resorts will make between $315 million and $375 million in capital improvements to its properties this fiscal year, excluding the new acquisitions. There was no announcement regarding plans for improvements to the three area ski resorts.
Vail Resorts had $1.2 billion in cash on hand in August, Vail Daily reported, and in the fall announced a $320 million capital plan — its largest in a single year — across 14 resorts.
Vail Daily is part of Swift Communications, an Aspen-based chain of newspapers — which Nutting’s Odgen Newspapers Inc. recently agreed to buy. The deal will be finalized Dec. 31. When that deal closes, Ogden will own 54 newspapers in 18 states, according to the Associated Press.
Epic Pass
Skiers in the region accustomed to buying season passes at any of the three resorts will have access to Vail Resorts’ Epic Pass next winter, though the company has not said whether buying an Epic Pass at Seven Springs will give the skier similar access to its other popular ski resorts in Vail and Breckenridge in Colorado; Park City, Utah; Stowe, Vt.; or its five resorts east of the Alleghenies in Pennsylvania.
Details about the various season passes and resort access will be determined once the deal closes, said Danielle Johnson, a Vail Resorts spokeswoman.
In terms of local skiers purchasing an Epic Pass for seasonal use, Lynch said they anticipate a “multi-year ramping up” of those purchases.
Joe Napsha is a TribLive reporter covering Irwin, North Huntingdon and the Norwin School District. He also writes about business issues. He grew up on Neville Island and has worked at the Trib since the early 1980s. He can be reached at jnapsha@triblive.com.
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