$20M for Whiteface and Gore + $8M for Belle

WF needs to do something to increase seating in the lodge.  The racing groups have taken up literally half the space and it took me 5 minutes to find a seat at 11:15.  If you come in at 12, it's gotta be like Times Square on New Years Eve.

I also think we should enclose the gondola top.  Build a structure that connects to existing Ski Patrol cabin.  Have a level walkway to eliminate the steps and subsequent climb sometimes on ice (lawsuit waiting to happened w/ pedestrian traffic). Construct a ramp with that skiable turf material so people could step into skis/board and slide onto snow surface.

This is exactly the set up at MSA on the Gondola. Both the bottom and top have enclosed structures for loaded and unloading. They don't have the ramp with skiable turf but the enclosed space makes loading and unloading more civilized and less chaotic.

Jon951 wrote

Jumping into this thread now...

First and foremost upgrade I'd like to see at WF IMHO.....

Bathrooms on same level of main lodge (24k bath fixtures not required). This would provide both convenience and function. First chop at $20M would start with this project if I called the shots.

Installing stone in the ticket purchase area was useless waste of $$$. Not interested in any foo-foo shit at either WF or Gore.

If they could also make them not smell like open sewers all the time, that would be a bonus.

Harvey wrote

GOVERNOR CUOMO ANNOUNCES $8 MILLION FOR UPGRADES AT BELLEAYRE SKI RESORT

Funding will Support the Construction of a New Gondola and Upgrades to the Base Lodge at Belleayre Mountain Expansion Will Allow for More Skiing Trails, and Year-Round Recreational Opportunities

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the state will invest an additional $8 million for upgrades at Belleayre Ski Center in Highmount to attract more visitors and build on the Catskill Region’s burgeoning tourism industry. The investment will enhance the current facilities at Belleayre Mountain with the installation of a new, high-speed gondola, multiple lodge expansions and the addition of modern amenities for both lodges at the resort. The project will increase visitation, enhance customer experience and provide a major boost to tourism in the Catskills and the region's economy.

“Belleayre Mountain is one of the crown jewels of the Catskills and a major driver of the region’s tourism economy,” Governor Cuomo said. “With this investment, we are supporting vital upgrades at this mountain to ensure it remains an unparalleled year-round recreation destination and continues to leverage economic growth for the entire region for generations to come.”

“This plan will overhaul the Belleayre Ski Resort to address areas of need, increase visitation and overall enhance customer satisfaction,” said ORDA President & CEO Ted Blazer. “The additions of the new gondola, and modern day lodge amenities at Belleayre will attract new skiers and riders and encourage them to stay in the New York area for their resort experience. I would like to thank the Governor for his continued commitment to not only Belleayre, but to the Catskill Region.”

The FY 2018 Executive Budget includes $12.5 million for Olympic Regional Development Authority facilities, which includes Belleayre, Whiteface and Gore Mountains, as well as Olympic facilities. Last month, the Governor announced an additional $20 million to upgrade the facilities at Whiteface and Gore Mountains in the North Country and build on the region’s burgeoning tourism industry. These new capital investments are being added to the Executive Budget as part of the 30-day amendments, submitted today.

New High-Speed Gondola

Upgrades at Belleayre Mountain include the construction of a high-speed, eight-person gondola that will span from the lower mountain Discovery Lodge to the mountain summit, providing more efficient, logical, and necessary access point to skiers and riders. The installation of this lift, along with other proposed changes, would overhaul the entire facility and elevate Belleayre to a higher level of resort experience.  The new gondola will include 65 cabins that will transport guests to the summit in under six minutes, massively increasing the skier capacity of the mountain and providing for a better ski experience. The Gondola would also provide additional revenue opportunities as the use of indoor cabins allows for the following offerings:

Nordic and Cross Country skiing at the expansive summit of the mountain;
Year-round scenic gondola rides as sold at Whiteface & Gore Mountains;
Mountain biking from the mountain summit; and
Wedding and private party rentals at mountain summit.

Belleayre Lodge Improvements

The mountain has two primary lodges, the Discovery Lodge at the lower base area lodge that services beginner terrain and rental facilities, and the Overlook Lodge, which accesses the upper mountain offerings and handles the majority of food and beverage offerings. With the addition of a Gondola, expanding lodge offerings is critical to sustaining the additional guest base expected as a result. The state will provide $1.5 million for upgrades at each of the lodges.

Discovery Lodge Improvements: The Discovery Lodge at Belleayre contains a children’s learning area, ski school areas, cafeteria, bathrooms, and a small bar/café. Improvements to the Discovery Lodge will increase its current seating capacity, retail space, increased food/beverage locations, and addition of office space. This would provide enough space to have a fully functioning learning area for all ages with the necessary amenities to service these guests as needed including bar and restaurant style offerings.

Overlook Lodge Improvements: The Overlook Lodge currently provides guest access and gathering at the lift points reaching upper mountain, and contains a cafeteria area as well as a bar and restaurant with an attached deck.  Improvements in this area will expand increase seating capacity, storage and locker areas, daycare facilities, and expansion of food and beverage offerings.

Improvements at Belleayre Mountain will support the facility’s role as a major driver of the Catskill Region’s tourism industry and will ultimately expand economic growth and investment opportunities for the surrounding communities. It will also make unparalleled skiing and winter recreation opportunities more accessible to visitors from New York City and downstate regions closer than other skiing locations throughout the northeast.
 
Tourism in the Catskill Region
Since taking office, the Governor has worked to grow New York’s tourism industry in the Catskills region. Last year, the Governor hosted the Catskills Summer Challenge to highlight the world-class attractions and activities readily available in the Catskills with the goal of driving tourism and boosting the region’s economy.
 
In 2015, the total economic impact of tourism industry in the region reached $1.83 billion, an increase of more than 13 percent since 2010. Visitation is up 14 percent since 2010 with more than 11 million visitors to the Catskills in 2015. In addition, tourism is vital to the region’s economy, representing more than 15 percent of the region’s employment, or over 17,000 jobs.
 
The investment at Belleayre Mountain builds on the Governor’s accomplishments that are already setting the stage for future growth in the Catskills region, including:
 

Over $5.4 million invested in the Catskills region by DEC to improve fishing access, hiking trails, campgrounds and infrastructure;

The Maurice D. Hinchey Catskill Interpretive Center, a $1.3 million project supported by New York Works, which was completed in 2015 and provides information to visitors about the 700,000–acre Catskill Park;

Improvements to enhance the experience of visitors and increase public safety, including an observation platform, completed at Kaaterskill Falls; and

The I LOVE NEW YORK Bus hosts regular ski trips from Manhattan to Catskills’ slopes, including Hunter Mountain and Belleayre, to drive tourism Upstate.

Wow a gondola in the catskills...that's pretty interesting

Wish he'd shake that money tree of his over some of the privately owned ski areas in NY

they don't mention incorporating  Highmount ...

until it's built , it's all bullshit on paper..

ADmiKe wrote

Wow a gondola in the catskills...that's pretty interesting

Read between the lines -- they're cutting trails all the way down to Pine Hill to complete the 2,100-vert build-out, hence the gondola!

No kidding.  A gondola for a hill with 1400' vert.  If you're going to go that route, why not a bubble quad instead?  You'll spend just as much time getting your skis on and off as riding the damn thing.

Bells real vert is around 800 ft..The other 600 ft is all beginner terrain..
A Gondola's  got to run around 5mil, doesn't leave a lot left over..

Where's the $ coming from again ?  Between lights on bridges,and all the other BS, this guy spends money like a drunken sailor.

Does the Syracuse Gondola fall under the BS category?

Look forward to hearing more about the gondola plans. Right now, it's about the wackiest thing I've ever heard.

Yeah amtrack station to Albany egg is one of his dreams.  The state fair to lakeview amphitheater is his reality in syr

Belle needs a bi-directional rope tow at the top not a Gondi.

This is absolutely insane (and I say that as a long time Belleayre season pass holder). Belleayre doesn't need a Gondola, for 1300ft of Vertical. This must be replacing the planned Six Pack going to the Summit near the Tomahawk. Which means they will need to build the overpass they planned on.

What a fucking disaster. Belleayre needs a massive snowmaking overhaul, not some bullshit Gondola.

JasonWx wrote

Bells real vert is around 800 ft..The other 600 ft is all beginner terrain..
A Gondola's  got to run around 5mil, doesn't leave a lot left over..

This is the stupidest thing our idiot Spending like a drunk sailor if it will get him elected Gov has proposed.  This makes it abundantly clear he knows absolutely nothing about running a ski area.

 I've been there only a couple of times but that is enough to know no one skis top to bottom particularly since a road and parking lot bisects the ski area.  Is this thing going to have a mid load and un load.   Would add even more to the cost.

They need to replace the existing fixed grip lifts with HSQs not put in a Gondi no one would use.  This will never get funded.

Coach, what I suspect they are going to do is build an overpass over the access road which was called for in the UMP that was created 2 years ago.

In the plans there would be a Six pack lift going from the Discovery Lodge. Now they will be replacing that with a Gondola. What a stupid idea on top of an already bizarre buildout plan thats proposed. The utter redundancy of those lifts on the west side is mind numbing.

They need to get rid of the Tomahawk, reroute the Belleayre West lift keeping the bottom terminal where its currently proposed and then move the top terminal to roughly where the Tomahawk use to go. Make it a HSQ instead of the proposed Fixed grip

Here is the plan from 2 years ago:

So they are going to build an over pass that with a warming climate wont hold snow for shit over the parking lot?  And this is so higher level skiers can now bomb thru the beginner teaching area that they really don't want to ski anyway?  What lunatic came up with this piece of crap plan?

All this for a ski area that can't make money? Pure lunacy.

I would like to hear Sno's take on this. He can even crunch cost numbers it seems.

It is odd for such a small vert. So are there any terrain options up top ? Is this a connector to what ever  " Highmount " is ? Maybe they're hoping for a big summer business offshoot ?