Jay Peak Buys Burke

I guess they were busy buying Burke and were just posting at will to let off some steam!!!

http://www.wcax.com/story/18614019/burke-mountain-sold

This just in on the 242 newsletter:

Greetings Jay Peakers

We wanted you to be among the first to know –  Our president Bill Stenger and longtime business partner Ariel Quiros have purchased Burke Mountain Resort.  We alerted staff and you were next on the list.  We (or more specifically JJ Toland) will be covering all the press, but thought it was important that you hear the news, officially, from us and not vague rumors and news reports.

We’re still working out (all) the details, but are already thinking of ways to amplify your winter experience to include Burke.  Stay tuned – you will, as always, be amongst the first to know.

For more info on Burke visit skiburke.com.  Maybe like them on Facebook too - Think both will highlight that Burke and Jay Peak will be a good fit.

This is great news for both places and for the NE Kingdom. One of the articles says Burke had about 60,000 visits. Yikes. I skied Burke about 10 years ago and had a great time. It took about 5.5 hours of mostly highway driving from north Jersey. It is about 10 miles off I-91. The 2 mountains are 55 driving miles apart.

Jay will figure this out.

I'm excited. I really think Jay's pricing and attitude is a bright spot in the east coast ski industry.

ml242 wrote

I'm excited. I really think Jay's pricing and attitude is a bright spot in the east coast ski industry.

Hear, hear! Let's have an HR event at Jay/Burke this winter to celebrate. And what the heck, we could even invite some maggots .

It's too bad more places like this can't survive on their own.Take Plattekill. They must be doing something right with the unrushed laid-back atmosphere. Hit that place after some new snow and you'll have one of the most enjoyable ski days around the east. I've been there after a dump and at closing decided to find a room and come back the next day because it wasn't completely hammered.

skimore wrote

It's too bad more places like this can't survive on their own.

I understand this sentiment.  

I probably shouldn't have posted my comment on ml's Burke blog post without knowing the answer to this question:

What is the history of Burke re skier visits and profitability? Was Burke management changed (2009?) because it was struggling or because Ginn was struggling in their other investments?  Was Ginn managing it themselves before that time?

I believe it is the same Ginn that filed for bankruptcy in 2009, but I'm not really clear on what happened to Burke and why.  Where they doing well at previous visit levels? (I think this years 60,000 was low for Burke.)

I like your idea SBR!

Harv-

Burke has had a challenging history regarding sustainability and ownership. Without Burke Mountain Academy and local support, it surely would have closed and gone lost before Ginn got involved. As a resort company, Ginn lost their shirt in the real estate bust which is when Ginn bailed after having heavily invested in planning for a large scale "private-ish" type resort. They didn't bail because of Burke failing as it was still in the process of being built up.

I've been skiing Burke since 2002 before the high speed quads went in and the developments began. Not much as really changed at Burke despite all the lift and base area changes (a few trails got some edges snipped, not too bad). As a Burke fan, I am thrilled by this news as it means long term viability, earlier openings/later closings/better snow making, and the management needed to make Burke thrive. I like old school and throw back. But it sucks going to a mountain you love and wondering every year if the lifts will still turn the next year. Ownership has come and gone but I think Stenger and Co. will bring stability. Stability is what Burke needs. Well, that and more guest visits. Which it will get.

Sounds like the same Ginn.  I didn't know they had mtn properties. We had an opportunity to pitch their business back in 09 (I think) and their portfolio included a bunch of southern us coastal stuff.  We ultimately didn't pitch them because we didn't believe in their ability to pay.

Sounds like a stable owner is what the doc ordered.

I'd be concerned that they are going to over extended themselves with Burke financially.  Burke has been struggling to make a profit for as long as I can remember.  Burke is a good mt but it to get to it from the major cities you have to drive hours past so many bigger ski areas and it is not blessed with the Jay Cloud which makes it worth it to drive the extra distance to Jay.

I would have thought Jay's focus was on completing their terrian expansion.  The Jay management team will have to learn how to run a ski area that gets "normal" eastern snow.

It is interesting to note that the owner and his partner bought Burke with a different corporate entity.  There must be a reason for that.  Is Burke too far from the board to be able to use the E5B money there?  

The perception that "you have to drive hours past so many bigger ski areas" is erroneous for the majority of Burke's market. For the Boston market, Burke is only an hour or less (depending on how fast you are driving) beyond the major Ski 93 areas and the same time or faster than Wildcat and Sunday River and way faster than Saddleback and Sugarloaf in Maine. For anyone coming up I-91 (CT/NY/MA skiers) or I-89 (SoNH, Boston, RI), Burke is the same time or faster than any ski area from Sugarbush north right up the spine through Jay. I can see Burke not being worth driving past NoVT areas for skiers that are west and north west of the spine for which the reverse is true than for I-91 skiers.

The "having to drive past other areas" notion really only applies to Ski-93 (only one hour) and SoVT via I-91. We aren't talking about hours difference from most metro areas, either. You do have to drive past other ski areas in some sense, but you need to do that to get to Bush, MRG, Smuggs, Stowe, and Jay. Burke is as far or closer (for MOST metro skiers) than all of those locations. Burke has not had its challenges due to its location as it is worth the drive.

Besides, location is such a minor part of the formula. Much of Vermont can attest to that: very few areas right off the highway. Burke is closer to an interstate than many Vermont areas. Well positioned major mountains such as Ascutney and Tenney have both failed despite their excellent location. And Smuggs thrives despite how remote it is.

Burke's problem has been two fold: lack of awareness (where is Burke? never heard of it) and its slow summit lift (already resolved). The lack of resort amenities has further been an issue in attracting folks. Mad River Glen aside, ski areas in Vermont haven't made it unless they built up at least a moderate resort base. Stenger can fix the marketing, awareness, and resort base issues.

As far as ownership, since Stenger is in partnership with someone, perhaps it is because his partner isn't part of the Jay ownership and Stenger couldn't fully bring Burke into the Jay ownership without the funding of his partner? Or perhaps it'll be easier to unload if things go poorly? As far as EB5 money, I believe they would need to apply anew for Burke.  

riverc0il wrote

As far as ownership, since Stenger is in partnership with someone, perhaps it is because his partner isn't part of the Jay ownership and Stenger couldn't fully bring Burke into the Jay ownership without the funding of his partner? Or perhaps it'll be easier to unload if things go poorly? As far as EB5 money, I believe they would need to apply anew for Burke.

Bill Stenger's partner is Ariel Quiros (hence QResorts), a biotech magnate. He also owns a a lot of land in the NEK apparently, as well as a biotech plant in nearby Newport, VT (read the linked article and learn that BS was a key player in getting the plant to VT). QResorts, the new owners of Burke, is a partnership of Stenger and Quiros. QResorts has owned Jay Peak since 2008.

Quotes below are from a 2008 article in the Montreal Gazette, full story here:

"QResorts, Jay Peak's new owners, will spend more than $100 million U.S. to turn the property into "a true 12-month-a-year resort," Bill Stenger, president of Jay Peak since 1984 and now part-owner of the resort, said yesterday."

"The key investor in QResorts is Florida businessman Ariel Quiros, who owns property in and around Jay Peak. Stenger described him as a "close friend" and one of the people who responded to "a conversation" about Jay Peak's future that began about nine months ago."

Thanks for the correction, SBR! I didn't realize Quiros was already partnered with Stenger on the Jay ownership. So essentially Jay has bought Burke then, the news I read didn't spell that out. Thanks!

I got confused by the ownership as well.  I actually changed the title of ml's blog post when I saw River's post on the same subject on Alpine Zone to say Jay Peak Partners Acquire Burke Mountain to add the word "partners."

I have to  say that the PR release was quite confusing on the ownership matter.

Does anyone know if Burke qualifies for E5B status.  I know it requires that the money be invested within so many miles of the boarder and I don't know if Burke qualifies.  

I was at Plattekill today for DH mountain biking and it was awesome! One day people will wake up a bit and create a liftline.

ausable skier wrote

I'd be concerned that they are going to over extended themselves with Burke financially.

Sounds familiar, haha

ml242 wrote

One day people will wake up a bit and create a liftline.

I am sooo torn. LOL.

First joint promo that I've seen:

Already commented about this on AZ, but this porky target is too good not to beat with a stick. Jay to Kingdom Trails takes an hour at the speed limit, Jay to Burke proper takes longer. I'm surprised they would exaggerate drive time by 1/3+ on an ad like that.

And Burke has condos. I wonder if Burke doesn't have operational control over them or doesn't get enough of a cut to promote them. Kinda crazy to do an ad for a hotel an hour away when Burke already has slopeside condos.