In recent news… Vail Resorts entered an agreement to purchase Michigan’s Mt. Brighton. We’ll repeat that… Mt. Brighton has been purchased by Vail Resorts. The Vail Resorts known for Breckenridge, Keystone, Heavenly, Northstart and Kirkwood – now Mt. Brighton!
In a press release that went out today from Vail Resorts, it was reported that both Mt. Brighton just outside of Detroit and Afton Alps just outside of Minneapolis were being purchased for a cash consideration of $20 million.
“We are thrilled to welcome Afton Alps and Mount Brighton to the Vail Resorts family. These acquisitions are part of a new strategy for Vail Resorts to drive season pass sales and build broader guest loyalty by looking at premier smaller ski areas located near major urban markets. We plan to bring state-of-the-art racing, terrain parks, coaching and technology to the guest experience. We also will connect these urban ski areas to our world-class resorts in Colorado, California and Nevada with new season pass offerings, providing the chance to experience the best skiing and riding locally and in the West,” said Rob Katz, chairman and chief executive officer of Vail Resorts.
Like our friends at the website Grays on Trays – we too are asking questions. So what’s in it for Vail? Does this strategic move make sense? Let’s look at the statement – “looking at premier smaller ski areas located near major urban markets.” We’re not about to throw Mt. Brighton under the bus here. There have been many a season veteran skier or snowboarder that cut their teeth on the slopes of Brighton – but it is a far cry from the types of areas Vail Resorts is known for.
It’s no doubt both Mt. Brighton and Afton will benefit from Vail’s deep knowledge of resort management, terrain improvements, lodge and rental improvements. In addition, both of these Midwest ski areas have major airport hubs nearby that offer up pretty reasonabile flights to their other locales.
It sure will be interesting to see how this all works out and what that means for these two midwestern ski areas – we’re actually excited to see where the chips fall and want to congratulate the two areas on the deal. But what do you think? Do you ride at either Mt. Brighton or Afton – if so, are you pumped on this deal? How about employees of these locations – are you excited about being a part of the Vail family of resorts, or is it a little sketchy?