On Monday, Vail Resorts unveiled a $50 million capital plan for upgrades to Park City Mountain Resort (PCMR) for the 2015鈥2016 ski season. Subject to approval by both Summit County and the City of Park City, the upgrades would include combining the ski area with nearby Canyons Resort. Visitors would ride a high-speed, two-way gondola between the two resorts to access the largest single ski area in the United States, with more than 7,300 acres of skiable terrain.
Efforts to combine the two adjacent ski areas will coincide with other major infrastructural improvements at PCMR, which Vail Resorts acquired only a few months ago following a three-year dispute that began when the ski areas鈥 previous operator neglected to file the necessary paperwork to renew its lease with its landlord.
鈥淲hen we announced the acquisition, we immediately announced our intention to combine the two resorts,鈥 Bill Rock, senior vice president and chief operating officer at Vail Resorts, told 国产吃瓜黑料. 鈥淭his is transformational in every way and far exceeds what people were expecting.鈥
Among the improvements, Vail Resorts intends to convert the King Con and Motherlode lifts into faster, higher-capacity models using detachable chairlifts; demolish and replace the Snow Hut restaurant; and renovate the Red Pine restaurant.
Rock told 国产吃瓜黑料 that the physical improvements are all scheduled to take place during the spring and summer of 2015. If all goes to plan, they will be complete in time for the start of the next year鈥檚 ski season. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 think anybody in the ski industry has put this much into one resort in a summer,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a pretty aggressive schedule, but doable.鈥