Winter Park Manifest

October 16, 2002

Intrawest closing likely within 30 to 60 days
by Harry Williamson

With the Denver City Council hurdle behind them, Intrawest officials are now working to complete negotiations on several other needed agreements in preparation for the final closing to operate Winter Park Resort, now expected to happen within 30 to 60 days.

Winter Park Resort CEO Gary DeFrange said the closing will likely be closer to the 60-day mark, with that time needed to do several things that couldn't be worked on until the contract with Denver was finalized.

He said these include agreements on transferring existing bank loans from the Winter Park Recreational Association to Intrawest, along with negotiations with the U.S. Forest Service on a new permit for Intrawest to operate the resort on its existing federally-owned land. DeFrange said final talks are also under way between Intrawest and the Arlburg Club on an agreement to lease land owned by the club at the Mary Jane base, and also with the Hines firm to purchase all development rights associated with Zephyr Mountain Lodge at the resort's base.

"Considering that all of these things have to be done before the closing, a 60-day time frame is reasonable," he said.

DeFrange added that resort officials are also talking with those from Intrawest about what needs to be done immediately after the closing is held. The talks also include plans for work needed to be under way at the one-year, three-year and five-year marks, and on into the Intrawest-Denver contract, which lasts until 2078.

In the contract Intrawest says it will invest at least $50 million on operational and on-mountain improvements at Winter Park in the next 10 years, with the possibility that $99 million will be spent on the upgrades. Intrawest must also construct 570 residential units within the 10 year period, with 3.5 percent of the unit's sales going to debt reduction at the resort. The Canadian-based firm will also continue the strong Winter Park tradition at the National Sports Center for the Disabled and in children's skiing.

The contract approved by the Denver City Council on September 30th has the city leasing its assets to Intrawest for 50 years, with the possibility of a 26-year extension. Denver receives a $3 million payment up front and $2 million a year for the first 10 years of the deal.

DeFrange said one of the first decisions to be made after the closing will be on a combined season winter pass with Copper Mountain Resort, which is also owned by Intrawest.

"We're getting a lot of questions about this pass, but we have to wait until the closing since as it stands now we are still very much in competition with Copper," he said. "After the closing, we'll all sit in a room and decide on a pass that makes good sense in the current market."

DeFrange added that customers are encouraged to go ahead and buy the Winter Park season pass at its current low cost, since they will be allowed to easily upgrade to the combined Copper pass one it's finalized.

One the closing is done, he said that plans for changes both on-mountain and at the base, planning that is already well under way, "will become a lot more intense and detailed." He added that the new WPRA board, to consist of five members, will also not be in place until after the closing. The existing 16-member board is still operating the resort, and is expected to meet later this month.

He said that other immediate changes after the closing will likely include decisions on which systems of operations at the resort will be converted to those used at other Intrawest resorts and which will be retained.

DeFrange stressed, however, that the principal focus will be on the upcoming winter season, and the resort will enter the season with the same staff it currently has.

"Intrawest has already made it clear that any system conversions will take a second place to making sure that we all do a good job of taking care of our guests," DeFrange said.