Jack Frost Ski Resort

Make-believe University Has Fans Worldwide

The make-believe University of Okoboji was conceived 36 years ago by brothers Herman and Emil Richter, who own a clothing store in the nearby town of Milford, Iowa. As a lark, they printed U of O T-shirts, and people snapped them up. Today, you can also get University of Okoboji mugs and sweatshirts that are every bit as impressive as those from Stanford or Yale.

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Who Owns Our Ski Resorts? | The Rich People, Duh?

As we develop  Mountain Rider’s Alliance , we have been examining the current ownership of ski resorts in the industry.

For Part 1, we will look at the Big Guns, then, we breakdown the Local Players.

The Big Guns:

These companies account for the majority of seasonal skier visits and gross income in North America.  The primary focus for most of the resorts owned by the Big Guns is the  destination “experience” designed to derive income from amenities , lodging and real estate offered to a more affluent demographic.  Unlike the ski-centric ski area operators of the 90’s and early 2000’s, today’s ski resort owners are becoming much more diversified as they expand into all facets of the leisure market.  CNL Lifestyle Properties and KSL Resorts epitomize this trend as the Big Guns are increasingly managing their resorts as theme park attractions.

Just last week, the Senate Committee recommended  the approval of the Ski Area Recreation Opportunity Enhancement Act of 2011, allowing for more year-round activities on Forest Service land.

CNL Lifestyle Properties

CNL Lifestyle Properties is a privately held  real estate investment trust that invests in lifestyle-related industries such as ski areas, golf courses, retirement communities, marinas, theme parks, resort real estate and commercial retail space. CNL owns 150 properties across the United States and is by far the largest owner of ski areas and resorts in North America, with ownership of 14 ski areas and numerous lodging and retail properties located in or near ski resorts.  With ski related properties making up the majority of the company’s holdings, CNL actively seeks new opportunities for investment within the ski industry and recently purchased many of Intrawest’s “Village” developments:

CNL Ski Resort Ownership:

Brighton Ski Resort, Utah , managed by: Boyne USA Summit-at-Snoqualmie Resort, Washington, managed by: Boyne USA Cypress Mountain, British Columbia, managed by: Boyne USA Loon Mountain Resort, New Hampshire, managed by: Boyne USA Sugarloaf USA, Maine, managed by: Boyne USA Sunday River, Maine, managed by: Boyne USA Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort, California , leased by: Vail Resorts Sierra-at-Tahoe Resort, California, managed by: Booth Creek Inc.