Interview with Greek Peak Round 2

I hope that Marc and John can make a go of it.  However, they need to surround themselves with people who have proven track records in the industry.  It's not just about, "build it and they will come."  They have to invest in marketing, and with people who can make it happen.  We are already seeing that Marc is keeping the website and Facebook up to date, which is wonderful.I'd also like to find out what happened to Al.  He is the visionary.  We can probably remember when Vail was taken over and Pete Seibert was shown the door.  It came back to bite them, and it took George Gilette to bring him back once he purchased Vail Resorts.  Yes, George ended up selling Vail, but he certainly moved the company forward.

Chatiemac wrote

Give 'em hell guys.... Friends of Greek Peak try to build it up not try to drag it down

I fully appreciate and am grateful for the skiing at Greek Peak. However their are a few people with bad attitudes (both skiers and boarders) who often post negative statements on the Facebook page of Greek Peak. These bitchers and moaners seem to always see the glass as half empty and seem to be quite grumpy. I simply wish that these people would lighten up and have a more positive attitude.

Big D wrote

Chatiemac wrote

Give 'em hell guys.... Friends of Greek Peak try to build it up not try to drag it down

I fully appreciate and am grateful for the skiing at Greek Peak. However their are a few people with bad attitudes (both skiers and boarders) who often post negative statements on the Facebook page of Greek Peak. These bitchers and moaners seem to always see the glass as half empty and seem to be quite grumpy. I simply wish that these people would lighten up and have a more positive attitude.

Right on Big D....eff those guys

Why do they have to hire people that have industry experience?  Robert Kraft had no experience owning a football franchise and look what he has done.  

IMO opinion being advid skiers coupled with the fact they run other successful businesses is a winning combination.  Its not rocket science...its just hard work which from there past endeavors shows they are not afraid of that.

this thread is in dire need of stoke!

i remember our first night's stay at the lodge and the excitement of waking up to the sound of the guns fing up back on 12/5/09


this is why we came and will continue to support greek!

Right on G

Always liked that pix from behind the lodge, the one of JR on the headwall @ 5 ain't bad either

Gorgonzola, I've been sitting in the Caribbean for the past 2.5 weeks and am salivating over those photos.  That was perfect timing posting them.  It's just what I needed.

not trying to rag on GP or the new owners at all!
I applaud their efforts to keep GP going. If nothing else it has been a real eye opener to see the overwhelming support from the community since they bought the place! Who knew?

I worry they bit off a bit much, but so far they have made a number of very smart, conservative, fiscally responsible (unlike Big Al) moves and I really do hope it pays off big for them. Good for them, good for the community, good for Virgil, good for the skiers out there.

I know lots of people who can't wait for them to fire up the new guns!

Great shots ^^^^^

GP & HLL has some great representaion this year at JETS trainging camp. Maybe they have in the past too, but I don't recall seeing them there before. Great opportunity for them to  gain new customers.

I have been out of the area for the last several weeks, but had dinner the other evening at HLL.  I like the new menu, but what on earth is Dwayne thinking with the menu pricing. The Acorn has always been a little pricey for the area, but the two of us spent close to $100 on dinner.  We were also the only ones in the restaurant, which should speak volumes. Do they really think the Groupon folks are going to spend more for dinner than their room?

Why not ask Dwayne instead of bitching about in here???

Be nice.  

I have been discussing F&B with Spitzer, but wanted to share my experience on this forum, as well.  They do have two different sized portions now to justify the pricing, and they also have a new chef starting in a little over a week, so additional changes will be forthcoming.

LOL, guess that was a bit harsh


I still say someone got filthy rich off that entire deal...who the hell loans ANYONE in Virgil 50 million...think about that for just a second, fifty friggin million. I'll tell ya it had to be a borderline scam. I hope I'm wrong, but my gut tells me I'm not. The place never should've been built, or at least not the way that it was with all borrowed/anticipated monies. From a business perspective that never works---EVER!!!

I hope all of you who've invested in HLL come out of this smelling like roses, I truly do. But to me HLL will always be a sore spot. Ever since that place has been built our kickass little ski hill has gone down the inevitable toilet. Thank the good lord above Marc and John stepped it to try and turn the place around. Not that I don't like Lab, but it's like a 20 minute drive instead of 2

We need to have a beer sometime this winter

You know Camp, I don't totally disagree with Al and his vision.  However, the Lodge was over the top. The thought, as you know, was to build the Lodge, hit 70% or so in sold fractional ownership units, and then use $17M to update the mountain. The problem, however, as you said is that this is Virgil, NY, and the ski area had been neglected for years.  The caliber of the Lodge would have been better positioned in Beaver Creek or Deer Valley.  As I've said before, there is a reason that Marriott hasn't built a Ritz Carlton in Virgil.

The crazy thing is that 51% of the units are sold, but they still had about $38M outstanding in loans for the lodge, with the other $10M for the Adventure Center and Conference Center.  $38M outstanding with 51% sold is crazy. Now John and Marc will sell the remaining units at 1/2 price, which I'm sure makes that 51% real happy.  Of course, it's nearly pure profit for John and Marc.  I have little doubt that the sale of the 101+/- pending orders will nearly cover the cost of the $3M ski area expansion.

What I'm also still amazed with is that the FDIC didn't work out a financing deal with Al and his investors.  All along, Al was willing to pay back the full loan.  He just needed it restructured, as no single bank was going to pick up the $50M.  Banks were, however, willing to pick up about half that amount. I haven't seen Al or Gayle in a while, but maybe when the dust settles, some insight can be garnered--not that it really matters.

I have to say, looking at the condition of the various buildings at GP, that any bank would have looked at the balance sheet and seen GP as very profitable. Not spending necessary monies on deteriorating buildings, maintenance, repairs would have left the expenses column looking great.

snowshoe bunny wrote

I have to say, looking at the condition of the various buildings at GP, that any bank would have looked at the balance sheet and seen GP as very profitable. Not spending necessary monies on deteriorating buildings, maintenance, repairs would have left the expenses column looking great.

There's probably a reason they had to go to Tennessee for the loan.  The best part is that they got another $10M out of them for the Adventure Center when the Lodge wasn't performing as they had hoped.  Unbelievable!

Al did say that had they not opened the Lodge when they did, they likely would not have been able to secure the financing down the road.  

This was totally an unsecured loan, which is why the rural development agency had to back a portion of the deal.  Of course, all they were concerned with were the number of new jobs that would be created.

What I also wonder is why Hope Lake Investors simply didn't file for bankruptcy, so that Al could hang on to the ski area.

From reading various articles in the past... this is how I understood that AL got those $50 million dollars in loans. Al got that older guy - the President of the Tennessee bank to come up and look things over. AL pitched getting a big loan to build a big Hotel and Golf Course. The Banker said he wouldn't loan the money for a Hotel/Golf Course, but he would loan the money for a Hotel/Waterpark. When the FDIC seized and shut down the Tennessee Bank, they stated that the Tennessee Bank President had given out way too many high risk Niche loans (like the one to Greek Peak). The FDIC said the Banker could have dealt in 1 or 2 of these risky loans, but not several. Then I read somewhere that because of job creation some government agency backed the loans, so ultimately I think federal taxpayers have taken the haircut on the big loss from the bankruptcy.

Nice explanation, BigD.

I know there are many golf courses in the region, but I wonder if things would have turned out differently with a destination golf course versus a waterpark.  At least the land is still there if a golf course ever comes to fruition.