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Show B-1 C-1 Serving Summit County since 1880 Leaders welcome Vail deal COMPILED BY THE PARK RECORD The Park Record gathered comments from government leaders, industry figures and others about the Vail Resorts lease deal at Canyons Resort: On behalf of Utah's ski and snowboard industry, Ski Utah welcomes Vail Resorts to our family of 14 incredible mountain resorts. Vail has proven to be a successful resort operator in a very competitive marketplace. They will undoubtedly bring some fresh energy and do nothing but add to the spotlight already shining on Utah's $1.2 billion ski industry." , -Bob Wheaton Deer Valley Resort president I look forward to renewing the relationship with Blaise Carrig, with whom we had worked with in the original design of the Canyons. I trust that the new management will want to create a great working situation with the other resorts." -Dana Williams Park City mayor I found out early yesterday through my nephew in a text stating he would be visiting more next winter as his Vail pass would be good at The Canyons. The effects of this lease will be farreaching, and we still have a lot to learn about what those will be." -Kim Carson Summit County Council member Vail is a strong brand and should further enhance Park City's reputation as an elite destination. We're fortunate to have great relationships with our local resorts and hope that Vail Resorts will share their passion for our community." - Andy Beerman Park City Council member Park City is a community that welcomes the world, and the addition of Vail Resorts to our mix of very successful and professional ski resorts can only benefit both our residents and our visitors."-Liza Simpson Park City Council member Please see Deal, A-2 3 sections • 36 pages Business............................... A-5 Classifieds ........................... C-8 Columns .............................. A-14 Crossword ........................... C-4 Editorial............................... A-15 Events Calendar .................. C-6 Legals .................................. C-10 Letters to the Editor ............ A-15 Movies................................. C-4 Restaurant Guide................. C-7 Scene .................................. C-1 Scoreboard ......................... B-5 Sports .................................. B-1 Weather ............................... B-2 PUBLICATION UTAH | WWW.PARKRECORD.COM 50¢ Vail arrives Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, June 1-4, 2013 A ski industry titan reaches deal to run Canyons Resort By JAY HAMBURGER The Park Record Vail Resorts on Wednesday said it has reached an agreement with Talisker Corporation to lease Canyons Resort, a deal that brings one of the ski industry's top brands to Park City. In a prepared statement, Vail Resorts said it "has assumed all of the resort operations of Canyons . . ." as part of the lease. The statement said Talisker Corporation will retain the development rights at the resort. "With 4,000 skiable acres, easy access to the town of Park City and $75 million in recent resort improvements, Canyons is a perfect complement to our collection of world-class mountain resorts," Rob Katz, the chairman and CEO of Vail Resorts, said in the prepared statement, commending Talisker Corporation's efforts at Canyons Resort. The statement, meanwhile, indicates that the agreement includes the possibility of the Vail Resorts lease expanding to the acreage at Park City Mountain Resort that is under the ownership of a Talisker Corporation-controlled firm. PCMR and the Talisker Corporation firm are engaged in a lawsuit centered on the PCMR lease of the land. Please see Vail arrives, A-2 -Nathan Rafferty Ski Utah president The folks at Vail Resorts are great ski area operators and we welcome them to town. There are a lot of great people at Canyons and the combination will be impressive." A CANYONS LEASE AT $25 MILLION A YEAR? GO FIGURE Park Record. PARK CITY A COLUMNS, A-14 COUNTY COURTHOUSE RECORDS ARE FREE, FOR A TIME The follow The Park Record newsroom for breaking news updates @parkrecord YOU HAVE TO BE FIT TO BE IN CROSSFIT GAMES SCAVENGERS THESE DAYS ARE HIGH TECH BUSINESS, A-5 TWITTER Vol. 133 | No. 34 CHRISTOPHER REEVES/PARK RECORD Blaise Carrig, an executive at Vail Resorts, left, and Canyons Resort General Manager Mike Goar are two of the key figures as the Colorado-based firm assumes control of operations at the Snyderville Basin resort. Carrig once helmed Canyons Resort. Goar had been the managing director at the resort prior to this week. Vail: PCMR land has value Lease lawsuit leaves uncertainty, though, firm's chairman says By JAY HAMBURGER The Park Record The chairman and CEO of Vail Resorts on Wednesday spoke in vague terms about future possibilities for the firm on the land where Park City Mountain Resort operates, but he cautioned that the lawsuit between PCMR and a firm under the Talisker Corporation umbrella leaves uncertainty. In a call with Wall Street analysts and reporters, Rob Katz at several points discussed the PCMR land and the legal case. Katz did not provide details about possibilities involving the acreage, saying in his prepared statement the PCMR land could "add significant value to our opportunity . . . " He said the lawsuit, though, leaves the timing unclear. "The opportunity with the PCMR land is not completely clear, but may offer a path that creates a very unique experience for skiers and riders in Park City," Katz said in his prepared remarks. PCMR and the Talisker Corporation firm are locked in a lawsuit that centers on the resort's lease of land for the ski terrain. The Talisker Corporation side contends that PCMR did not properly renew the lease. PCMR sees the lawsuit as critical to the survival of the resort. The lawsuit claims Talisker Corporation wants to eliminate PCMR as a competitor to Canyons Resort. As part of the agreement with Talisker Corporation, Vail Resorts "has assumed responsibility for the litigation," Katz said in the prepared remarks. During the call with analysts and reporters, meanwhile, Katz fielded a question from an analyst about the cost of the Vail Resorts lease of the land at Canyons Resort, which was announced on Wednesday. The agreement between Vail Resorts and Talisker Corporation also includes the potential to lease the land at PCMR. "But I would say there's no question that the land that is part of this opportunity underneath Park City, we feel has real value. Obviously, there's no certainty to that. So there is a bit of additional Vail Resorts operates: risk there," Katz said. He added the PCMR land is nearby Canyons Resort and "could be connected from a ski experience perspective." He called PCMR "one of the great ski resorts, obviously in terms of brand names that's out there . . ." Katz did not provide details about the prospects of a connection. Some sort of link between PCMR and Canyons Resort has been a point of speculation for years, but little apparent progress has been made. The PCMR lawsuit claims that the resort and Talisker Corporation in 2009, 2010 and 2011 held talks about business ideas and capital upgrades that included a possible connection between PCMR and Canyons Resort. In response to another question from an analyst, Katz spoke about Vail Resorts previously being interested in Canyons Resort. He said Talisker Corporation has invested heavily at Canyons Resort in the intervening years and that there is potential at PCMR as part of the agreement announced on Wednesday. " . . . I think the resort is in a far, far better position than it was when we last looked at it six years ago or so," he said about Canyons Please see PCMR, A-2 Vail won't replace staffers Wages, benefits will be similar to those of the Talisker days By JAY HAMBURGER The Park Record Vail Resorts will spend the next month assessing how Canyons Resort is structured before it would institute any changes in personnel, an official with the Colorado firm said. Blaise Carrig, who is the president of the mountain division of Vail Resorts and was the managing director of Canyons Resort from 1997 until 2002, said the firm wants to compare the structure to that of a Vail Resorts operation. The process will include an assessment of the management team at Canyons Resort. Carrig declined to discuss details but said a wholesale replacement of Canyons Resort employees with people from Vail Resorts will not occur. He said the employee count at Canyons Resort will be similar to the staffing levels under Talisker Corporation's management. Carrig and three others with Vail Resorts, including someone from human resources, met with the Canyons Resort leadership team on Wednesday as well as holding a meeting with between 40 and 50 employees. Carrig said the values of Vail Resorts and the assessment period were addressed. Carrig said the employees asked the Vail Resorts officials about topics like benefit packages, tenure and vacation time. They inquired about whether they would be required to reapply for the jobs that they currently hold, Carrig said, adding that they will not need to do so. He also said the tenure of the employees will be recognized by Vail Resorts. Carrig said the wages and benefit packages that the employees will receive under Vail Resorts appear to be similar to those they have now. VISITOR GUIDE Soar over to City Park on Sunday for a children's fair Vail (Colo.) Beaver Creek (Colo.) Breckenridge (Colo.) Keystone (Colo.) Heavenly (Calif.) Northstar (Calif.) Kirkwood (Calif.) Afton Alps (Minn.) Mt. Brighton (Mich.) Grand Teton Lodge (Wyo.) Vail Resorts is a publicly held company traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: MTN). Canyons Timeline 1968- Two California developers open Park City West with three double chairlifts, coffee shop and day lodge 1974 - Park City West closes for the season due to drought and real estate slump 1975- Jack Roberts buys majority share, takes over and renames resort ParkWest 1985 Jerry Gilomen takes over operations of ParkWest 1988: Jack Roberts sells an option to buy the resort to Jerry Gilomen 1991: Gilomen relinquishes option to buy 1991: Roberts sells ParkWest to Kenny Griswold and Mike Baker who rename it Wolf Mountain 1997: American Skiing Company buys lifts, buildings and development rights for $7.7 million from Griswold and Baker and renames the resort The Canyons. Wolf Mountain Resorts retains 3,100 of skiable terrain which it leases to American Skiing Company. 2007: Vail Resorts and Talisker Corp. wage bidding war to buy The Canyons 2007: Talisker Corp. successfully purchases The Canyons from ASC Utah for $100 million 2011: Court orders Wolf Mountain to pay $54 million in damages to Canyons owners, Wolf declares bankruptcy 2013: Vail Resorts enters into a 50-year lease with Talisker Corp. to manage Canyons, Talisker retains development rights The Soaring Wings Parent Teacher Student Organization will present the Park City Children's Fair at City Park on Sunday from 10:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. It will feature games, food, live music, prizes, magic show, pony rides, giant slide, bounce house, live reptiles, amphibians and birds. More: www.soaringwings.org. |