GREAT NEWS FOR ALASKA LIFT SERVED SKIING!!! ALYESKA RESORT IS FOR SALE!!!!

freaks~in~creeks · 07-10-2006, 05:03 PM

maybe now this area can step up to its full potentiaL!!
anyone who has ridden there will know what i'm talking about!
(even though i once recieved a comp voucher from the mountain manager after a high speed chase down the entire mountain by patrol for poaching!)
alyeska has some great terrain...it just seldom gets opened...even though it must be controlled to open the in bounds area...
let s hope this place gets some cool owners with a bit more user friendly outlook
Alyeska Resort up for sale

By Ken Osuna
Turnagain Times
Seibu Corporation, the Japanese parent company of Alyeska Resort, has decided to sell Alyeska Resort and the Toronto Prince Hotel in Canada. The company also intends to sell some of its properties in Japan to raise cash to pay down corporate debts.
Alyeska Resort CEO Chris von Imhof announced Seibu’s decision at a department heads staff meeting June 28 and sent a memo to company employees. Seibu has retained as financial advisors Lehman Brothers in Japan and Trammel Crow Company in New York to assist in the search for qualified investors. Von Imhof said the company hopes to have a buyer by the end of October. So far no buyer has stepped forward although there is some interest by Alaska investors.
“I personally look at it as a good opportunity to move forward and find the right investor/resort developer to take advantage of the opportunities we have,” von Imhof said.
He added that the company plans to sell the resort as a package, which includes the 300-room Alyeska Prince Hotel, the ski area with tram, lifts and the Daylodge, and the O’Malley golf course in Anchorage. A new owner, according to von Imhof, could also move forward with developing 55 acres of “choice” real estate hugging the mountain between the hotel and the old resort.
“That is the best opportunity to generate more business by selling some of the real estate,” he said, noting that the resort has a master plan for the area in the preliminary stages, which includes construction of condos and timeshare units. Due to its financial difficulties, Seibu has been reluctant to make the investment in the real estate project, von Imhof said.
A new owner could also be an investor in future Winner Creek development, which the Anchorage municipality is currently mapping out plans for a ski area, Nordic ski trails and a golf course. Such future plans could make the existing Alyeska Resort more valuable, according to von Imhof, as an investor will see room for future growth “because it’s not the end of the road here.”
A sale would mean the fourth owner for Alyeska Resort in its 50 year history. According to Alaska’s Perfect Mountain, a book on Girdwood and Alyeska’s history, most of the community turned out on April 9, 1956 when the Girdwood Community Club organized the Alyeska Ski Corporation with 11 families pledging $250 each to purchase 160 acres of land at an auction.
As the fledgling ski area struggled to survive financially, a French baron, Francois de Gunzburg, stepped forward as a major investor. Under his ownership, Alyeska built its first chairlift, a 5,700-foot double chairlift that extended for 2,000 vertical feet.
By the late 1960s, de Gunzburg had tired of the financial drain of the resort and was focused on his European business interests. He also held a seat on the Alaska Airlines board and accepted when the airline offered him a stock swap for the resort.
As a result, the airline became Alyeska’s owner in 1967 and hired von Imhof, the Alaska state tourism director at the time, to manage it. While airline brass promised major improvements at Alyeska, the struggling airline didn’t have the money to pay for them and was limited by federal regulations on the types of non-airline businesses it could invest in.
However, von Imhof was able to arrange financing for construction of the first hotel and condominium complex and three new chairlifts, as well as the first lights for night skiing and snowmaking equipment.
By 1980, Alyeska’s expansion plans were beyond what Alaska Airlines could afford and Seibu Corporation, a major Japanese resort operator, was approached about buying the resort. During Seibu’s 26 years as Alyeska’s owner, the resort has undergone it’s most significant expansion with the completion of the Alyeska Prince Hotel in 1994. A 60-passenger high-speed tram, two new quad chairlifts and a new daylodge were also added bringing Seibu’s total investment in Alyeska to approximately $200 million.
“Alaska and Girdwood were lucky to find Seibu in 1980 to make the investment and buy the resort,” said von Imhof. “They stayed the course and made the investment, and they pretty much gave us a free hand to move forward with it.”
The company, he added, didn’t shy away from their investment even when market conditions unexpectedly changed. When Seibu first laid plans for resort expansion Anchorage was the air crossroads of the world with extensive international air passenger service, particularly to Japan. It was also bidding for the Winter Olympics. Newer, longer range jets nixed the air service, making travel from Japan more difficult, and Anchorage lost its Olympic bid.
Both von Imhof and ski area manager Larry Daniels expect the new owner to be a positive “fourth chapter” in the resort’s history, and they also believe a new company will retain much of the existing staff.
“The opportunities will be good,” said Daniels. “The vast majority of the staff will stay right here running the resort.”
www.turnagaintimes.com

**Buster Highmen** · 07-10-2006, 05:08 PM

Enema frosting.

**Eldo** · 07-10-2006, 05:17 PM

GREAT NEWS FOR PEOPLE WHO LOVE ALL CAPITAL LETTERS AND BRIGHT, LARGE TEXT!!!!!

**AKturnanburn** · 07-10-2006, 08:36 PM

Ha, hopefully whoever buys it is smart enough to can all the upper management, and hire some more progressive thinking folks (whistler/BC, kirkwood/mammoth, etc. ) who could help bring this place around to its full terrain (extremo) potential. Than maybe I would ride more than just storm days there.

Its funny the resort has been for sale for several years and this is the first time I've heard about it publicly. I know they were trying to sell it with there hawaii resort as well and there is no mention of that so maybe they just gave up.

Last I heard it was going for $90mil.

**Blurred** · 07-10-2006, 10:00 PM

**Telecaster** · 08-08-2006, 01:07 AM

Originally Posted by Eldo

GREAT NEWS FOR PEOPLE WHO LOVE ALL CAPITAL LETTERS AND BRIGHT, LARGE TEXT!!!!!

**ak_powder_monkey** · 08-08-2006, 01:31 AM

Originally Posted by AKturnanburn

Ha, hopefully whoever buys it is smart enough to can all the upper management, and hire some more progressive thinking folks (whistler/BC, kirkwood/mammoth, etc. ) who could help bring this place around to its full terrain (extremo) potential. Than maybe I would ride more than just storm days there.

chances of opening new gnar gnar terrain: slim to none
chances of lift ticket prices increasing: 100%