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Big Loss for Stratton and Vermont

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Author	Post
70s gore kid Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Mar 09, 2010 Posts: 314 Location:Top of Cheat Mountain, WV	Posted: Jul 31, 2012 - 4:23 PM GMT Edited: Jul 31, 2012 - 4:27 PM GMT Sorry, just realized Trick Skier and Rick Bolger posted this a few minutes before I did. Did not see that. I defer to their post.

joshua segal Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Jul 12, 2004 Posts: 5942 Location:NH	Posted: Jul 31, 2012 - 6:38 PM GMT If I know a mountain will be hosting a big event, I avoid the place like a plague. I go to mountains to ski, not to watch someone else! I am curious from one of our folks in management: How profitable is an event like this? __________ Joshua Segal

4aprice Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Jan 16, 2006 Posts: 999 Location:Lake Hopatcong, NJ	Posted: Jul 31, 2012 - 7:25 PM GMT Quote: How profitable is an event like this? Probably pretty popular. East coast states(VT and others) have a good record of killing or chasing out popular events. Look at how they killed BMMC and that was a big time popular event. Alex Lake Hopatcong, NJ

DrJeff Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Apr 29, 2002 Posts: 907 Location:	Posted: Jul 31, 2012 - 9:26 PM GMT From having been on the hill at Mount Snow not only while the Dew Tour was there a few years ago, but also when the winter X-games was there over a decade ago, frankly once you get away from the 10 to 15 acres that make up the competiton venues the rest of the mountain tends to have lighter than usual volume, which is a good thing for my downhill sliding enjoyment. Then, if I chose (and I did choose to things out and being my kids along too) to check things out, the accompanying "tent village" fill of sponsors exhibits and plenty of freebies are a bunch of fun to check out too. As for actually watching the competition, for the Dew Tour, I didn't watch more than 1 or 2 athletes during the daytime competiton who happened to be on course while I was checking out the tent village, but I did go back after the lifts closed and watched the snowboard and skier 1/2 pipe finals which were under the lights. Coincidently enough, last week, before this announcement was made, I booked a trip for my family that week to go out to Vail/Beavercreek, so I'll actually be out there during the US Open. I figure that from an on hill standpoint, if Vail has 10-15 acres devoted to US Open competition venues and the associated sponsors tent villages that maybe, just maybe I'll be able to find a few square feet somewhere in the other 7000+ acres that makes up Vail to make a turn or 2 and then will probably take my family to see the finals which i'm guessing will be under the lights as they tend to be at most major 1/2 pipe competitions these days As for the profitability of an event like this, I know that when the Dew Tour broke their contract with Mount Snow a year before it was set to expire prior to the 2010 winter Dew Tour, that Mount Snow chose to pursue legal action againt the Dew Tour/Alli Sports (the company that runs and produces the Dew Tour) for the million dollar clause in the contract that was in there for violation of the contract. Not sure if that million is or isn't an accurate number for what a resort can make off an event like it (via ticket sales, food and beverage sales, lodging and also national marketing), but that's atleast a number to go on

joshua segal Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Jul 12, 2004 Posts: 5942 Location:NH	Posted: Aug 01, 2012 - 1:32 AM GMT 4aprice suggests "popular", but I'm not sure popular always translates to profitable. DrJeff cite the lawsuit by Mt. Snow re the Mt. Dew Tour. That could be based on expenditures for advertising and a perceived loss of prestige because of the way the cancellation was done. With the Olympics going on, the host country rarely makes a profit, even when all the hotel, taxi, souvenirs, etc. profits are added in. There are too many set up costs. I'm not suggesting that either 4aprice or DrJeff is wrong. I'm wondering if anyone has hard numbers. __________ Joshua Segal

70s gore kid Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Mar 09, 2010 Posts: 314 Location:Top of Cheat Mountain, WV	Posted: Aug 01, 2012 - 3:15 PM GMT The problem to me is that the Vermont tourism industry is really struggling these days, and this is yet another blow. The 2008 Recession Hurricane Irene damage Continued lost tourism dollars from Irene Loss of Killington/Mt Snow Dew Tour Loss of Burton US Open The Burton move is a particulary big blow to the Stratton region because it took place in March, when the mountain is normally empty mid week. That's a lot of lost beds and dinners. From Channel 3 news in Burlington: "We wanted to find out the economic impact of this move. Stratton officials said to ask Burton, but Burton was not sure and neither was Vermont's Tourism Department. We are still waiting to hear back from the Chamber of Commerce, but we do know that the US Open drew around 30,000 people last year."

newman Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Aug 21, 2008 Posts: 2124 Location:The mighty SKI WARD Shrewsbury MA	Posted: Aug 01, 2012 - 10:44 PM GMT Do you think last years bad weather had more of a factor on the move west? Do the non skiing office market staff fell safer with Colorado on the ad? Last years winter could make people leary of the product, just from above record temps and below average natural snow. Just a thought.

millerm277 Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: May 28, 2006 Posts: 1133 Location:Somerset County, NJ	Posted: Aug 02, 2012 - 3:54 AM GMT Quote: Do you think last years bad weather had more of a factor on the move west? I'm thinking it might have had an impact on the willingness of resorts to host such events. Last year's Dew Tour was a rather big disaster for Killington, with them having to spend weeks in January putting large %'s of the snowmaking capacity toward blowing snow where no one was even allowed to ski. They looked bad, the skiing was bad and limited. Can't have been good for the bottom line or skier satisfaction. And I've always suspected that these sorts of events don't drive the bottom line as much as people think. The # of cars in the parking lot isn't always that many.

tedede Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Nov 15, 2004 Posts: 806 Location:Amherst, NH	Posted: Aug 02, 2012 - 7:10 AM GMT Quote: From Channel 3 news in Burlington: "We wanted to find out the economic impact of this move. Stratton officials said to ask Burton, but Burton was not sure and neither was Vermont's Tourism Department. We are still waiting to hear back from the Chamber of Commerce, but we do know that the US Open drew around 30,000 people last year." The fact that the tourism department can't quantify the impact of losing an event that draws 30,000 people says something about the tourism department.

newman Profile \| Galleries Rank: Member Since: Aug 21, 2008 Posts: 2124 Location:The mighty SKI WARD Shrewsbury MA	Posted: Aug 02, 2012 - 6:34 PM GMT The fact that the tourism department can't quantify the impact of losing an event that draws 30,000 people says something about the tourism department.[/quote] That could be why some areas dropped the SKI NH group like a hot potato.

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