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Vail Resorts plans $320 million upgrade to resorts

Breckenridge Ski Resort

Keystone Resort is about to get a lot bigger and move skiers faster, along with 13 other Vail Resorts Inc. (NYSE: MTN) properties across eight states and Canada, as the company announced Thursday a $320 million capital improvement plan.

Officials called it the “largest single-year investment” it has made to its properties. Broomfield-based Vail Resorts owns and operates 37 ski areas and mountain resorts. 

Improvements include 19 new chairlifts, 12 new high-speed chairlifts, a new high-speed gondola, 6 new fixed-grip chairlifts, new lift-served terrain and an expanded restaurant lineup.

Vail Resorts' CEO Rob Katz steps down after 15 years

They’re “designed to materially reduce wait times and increase uphill capacity,” according to the release. The improvements are planned to be in place by the 2022-23 ski season.

“Our mission at Vail Resorts is to provide an ‘Experience of a Lifetime’ to anyone who visits our resorts – and delivering on that mission requires constant re-imagination and investment into the guest experience,” said Rob Katz, chairman and chief executive officer of Vail Resorts, in a statement. “Our teams have been hard at work identifying significant opportunities to improve the guest experience and have produced an initial list of exciting lift upgrades, a restaurant expansion and projects that expand access to incredible terrain for next season, with more to be announced.”

The announcement came on top of Vail reporting its earnings Thursday for Q4 and fiscal year ended July 31, 2021.

The company posted revenue of more than $204 million in revenue for the quarter, up from $77 million during the same period last year — which was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic shut-down orders.

“Results continued to improve as the 2020/2021 North American ski season progressed, primarily as a result of stronger destination visitation at our Colorado and Utah resorts,” said Katz in a statement. “Excluding Peak Resorts, total skier visitation at our U.S. destination mountain resorts and regional ski areas for fiscal 2021 was only down 6% compared to fiscal 2019.”

The Colorado resorts slated for upgrades include Keystone, Breckenridge and Vail.

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In Keystone, plans call for a new high-speed, 6-person chairlift with access to 555 more acres of runs. Vail will see a new high-speed, 4-person chairlift in the Sun Down Bowl from the base of High Noon Express – where lines can get notoriously long on busy days. It will also give easier access to the trails in the Sun Down Bowl.

Officials estimate the company has spent $2.2 billion in the past 15 years “which has included transformational lift and terrain projects as well as industry-leading snowmaking infrastructure and state-of-the-art technological innovations,” according to the release.

“At some of our mountains, this means new high-speed lifts that will double how fast we can move people out of the base areas, and at others, the projects are all about making it easier for people to explore different sections of the mountain,” said Katz.

Despite severe losses in 2020, the company reported Thursday it maintains “significant liquidity with $1.2 billion of cash on hand as of July 31, 2021 and $613 million of availability under our U.S. and Whistler Blackcomb revolving credit facilities.”

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Katz is stepping down Oct. 31 from the CEO role he’s held for 15 years, the company announced in August. Kirsten Lynch, currently the chief marketing officer, will be named CEO. Katz will remain with the company as executive chairperson of the board.

“We remain focused on our disciplined approach to capital allocation, prioritizing our investments in our people, as well as high-return capital projects, strategic acquisition opportunities, and returning capital to shareholders,” Katz said. 



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