16 replies to this topic

[Peter]

Spanish Peaks Resort, which is one of the 4 ski areas in Big Sky, Montana, has closed.

Quote

Spanish Peaks closes, employees laid off

Bozeman Daily Chronicle

Spanish Peaks, a 5,700-acre private ski and golf community in Big Sky, closed and laid off its staff Monday, citing a troubled real estate market and substantial operating losses.
“As it stands today, the future of the Club is undetermined,” a letter addressed to members said. “It is likely Spanish Peaks will remain closed for the foreseeable future.”
The letter also said that the company might file for bankruptcy. After restructuring debt, seeking capital partners and making “hundreds of investor calls and visits,” the only option has been to shut down operations, according to the letter.
“This course of action is a sad outcome for all parties,” the letter said. “It is regrettable that the long and protracted recession has taken such a toll on the Club and similar communities throughout the United States, and the economic future remains as uncertain now as it did in 2008 when the financial crisis started.”
Calls and an email to Scott Johnson, the general manager for Spanish Peaks, were not returned Monday.
On the club’s website, Spanish Peaks is described as a “private enclave in a very privileged neighborhood.” It includes cabins and home sites, some of which offer ski-in, ski-out access to Big Sky Resort, and a golf course.
The Yellowstone Club, another private ski and golf community in Big Sky, went bankrupt in 2008. The next year, Moonlight Basin, a resort and real estate development in Big Sky, also went bankrupt.

http://www.bozemanda...1cc4c03286.html

Spanish Peaks Resort has 5 Doppelmayr lifts that were all built in 2005. (High Speed Quad, 2 triples, and 2 platters)

Pictures here: http://www.skilifts....panishpeaks.htm

Trail Map:  spanish peaks.jpg (761.75K)
Number of downloads: 186

Letter to members: http://s3.documentcl...mber-letter.pdf

History of lawsuits against the club: http://www.bozemanda...1cc4c002e0.html

[Peter]

Spanish Peaks Resort Owner Seeks Bankruptcy to Liquidate
October 14, 2011, 7:56 PM EDT

Oct. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Spanish Peaks Holdings II LLC, owner of a Montana resort, The Club at Spanish Peaks, sought bankruptcy protection to liquidate its assets.

The company, based in Big Sky, Montana, listed debt of as much as $500 million and assets of as much as $50 million in Chapter 7 documents filed today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware.

Under Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, a trustee is automatically appointed to sell the company’s assets and distribute the proceeds to creditors.

Thomas J. Francella Jr., a lawyer representing the company, didn’t immediately respond to a phone call and e-mail seeking comment after regular business hours.

The Club at Spanish Peaks is a 5,700-acre private resort, surrounded by Yellowstone National Park, Gallatin National Forest, and the biggest ski terrain in the U.S., Big Sky resort, according to its web site.

Yellowstone Club, another private Montana ski resort near Spanish Peaks whose members included Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and hotelier Barry Sternlicht, sought protection from creditors in November 2008 as real estate sales slowed, according to court records.

Spanish Peaks boasts an 18-hole golf course and private ski lift access to Big Sky Ski Resort. Members also enjoy fishing in the Gallatin River, where “A River Runs Through It” was filmed, horseback riding and mountain biking, among other activities. Stays at three-bedroom mountain homes start at about $1,200-a-night.

Some homes at the resort are going for about $1.95 million to about $5.88 million, according to listings on trulia.com.

The company shut and fired its workers this week, according to a report in the local paper, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.

The case is In re Spanish Peaks Holdings II LLC, 11-13300, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware (Wilmington).

[Peter Pitcher]

Some wrong information:
Spanish Peaks is about 50 miles from West Yellowstone, a gateway to Yellowstone National Park.
To my knowledge, "A river runs through it" was filmed on the Blackfoot river, not the Gallatin. Both are beautiful rivers

[boardski]

Visited Big Sky in 2008 and almost skied to the bottom of Sacajuwea lift thinking it was part of Big Sky. There were not really any signs saying otherwise. Were skiers and riders who visited Big Sky allowed to access Spanish Peaks previously? It would be nice if Big Sky could acquire the terrain, lifts, and facilities if the area is unable to revive but I realize that would likely be major $$$. Definately a sign of the times- many people do not have the money they once had.

[Peter]

Spanish Peaks was not open to Big Sky skiers. The terrain is nothing exciting but I could see Boyne attempting to purchase it because it's already developed and would maintain Big Sky access for SP homeowners. There is an established relationship between SP and Boyne because SP owned The Pinnacle restaurant at the top of Andesite Mountain .

This is the 3rd ski area/real estate development to go bankrupt in Big Sky. Boyne seems to be much more financially conservative and I don't think they would purchase SP if it didn't make financial sense.

[liftmech]

The common link here is 'real estate'. Of the three, only Moonlight Basin seemed to have any terrain worth mentioning. The other two were private clubs with skiing as a secondary draw. I see this one getting tied up in endless litigation similar to YC and Tamarack.

[Peter]

I stopped by Spanish Peaks when I was in Big Sky a few weeks ago. The roads were all plowed but I did not see other people or cars. The dry erase board at the high speed quad still had writing on it from last season. The door to the motor room of the beginner lift was wide open and blowing in the wind. The Pinnacle Restaurant at the top of Andesite was shuttered and looked like it had not opened this season. I got the sense that the place was abandoned pretty quickly without much care to protect the property.

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[floridaskier]

What's the status of the Yellowstone Club and Moonlight Basin now? And did Spanish Peaks open this season? It looks pretty grim in those pictures

Appears that the lesson here is that add-on real estate developments of this scale, with their own ski terrain, don't work too well. Big Sky is really the only place where this happened, and all three add-ons have failed. The only other development of this size that seems to be comparable is Deer Crest at Deer Valley, but even that is integrated into the rest of the resort and has reasonably interesting terrain. Private ski terrain doesn't seem to be workable. You see this with a lot of private golf clubs built in the height of the housing bubble in Florida too, where the main attraction is unsustainable

[Peter]

floridaskier, on 19 April 2012 - 01:01 PM, said:

What's the status of the Yellowstone Club and Moonlight Basin now? And did Spanish Peaks open this season? It looks pretty grim in those pictures

Both YC and Moonlight opened this year, Spanish Peaks did not.

[SkiBachelor]

I think a lot of it has to two with marketing and convincing people to ski there.

For example, when I was at Big Sky in 2005, the people staying adjacent to our condo had no idea that there was another ski area at Big Sky until we told them. They loved Moonlight and went back the following day. When I skied Moonlight in 2005, I counted only 16 people on the mountain, while there were minor lift lines that same week at Big Sky.

[DonaldMReif]

floridaskier, on 19 April 2012 - 01:01 PM, said:

What's the status of the Yellowstone Club and Moonlight Basin now? And did Spanish Peaks open this season? It looks pretty grim in those pictures

Appears that the lesson here is that add-on real estate developments of this scale, with their own ski terrain, don't work too well. Big Sky is really the only place where this happened, and all three add-ons have failed. The only other development of this size that seems to be comparable is Deer Crest at Deer Valley, but even that is integrated into the rest of the resort and has reasonably interesting terrain. Private ski terrain doesn't seem to be workable. You see this with a lot of private golf clubs built in the height of the housing bubble in Florida too, where the main attraction is unsustainable

And Big Sky proper is the only one that was ever successful. Maybe they'd get some more visits if they annexed Moonlight Basin.

[mthornton]

Sustainability without ongoing successful real-estate development & the ability to maintain profitability during lean economic times & poor snow-years (based on operations only)... that's a tall order.
Perhaps in Europe where the population density is X10 that of NA. Proximity to large markets means everything.

My gut feeling is the only hope lays in ensuring that beginner skiers/boarders get the same quality of facility as intermediate/advanced skiers/boarders. Beginners deserve detachable quads & their own top-of-lift coffee shops. How else will there be any hope of expanding customer base.

[Peter]

Big news this morning in Big Sky...

Quote

Boyne, Yellowstone Club buy Spanish Peaks


SAM Magazine—Big Sky, Mont., July 25, 21013—CrossHarbor Capital, which owns the Yellowstone Club, and Boyne Resorts, which owns Big Sky Resort, have jointly purchased The Club at Spanish Peaks, a 5,700-acre upscale residential development near Big Sky, for $26.1 million. The private community filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2011.

In a joint statement, the two companies said, "On Friday, July 19, 2012, an affiliate of CrossHarbor Capital Partners LLC, in partnership with Boyne Resorts, closed on the purchase of the assets of Spanish Peaks out of the Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings. CrossHarbor and Boyne acquired Spanish Peaks because we believe it has incredible long-term potential. Together, we recognize that the successful development and completion of Spanish Peaks is essential to the future of Southwest Montana and to ensuring the Big Sky area remains a world-class resort destination."

Sam Byrne, managing partner of Boston-based CrossHarbor and a property owner at the Yellowstone Club, released an additional statement of his own. "I am excited by the opportunities provided by this transaction and the partnership that has been established with Boyne Resorts," the statement read. "I believe this investment will result in important benefits for Southwest Montana, preserving and creating jobs and attracting further investment in the region. I look forward to working with Boyne Resorts, and all of our friends and neighbors throughout the region, as we create a path forward that ensures Spanish Peaks remains a premier Big Sky destination."

CrossHarbor had been angling for Spanish Peaks for months. On April 19, CrossHarbor acquired the secured debt owed on the assets of Spanish Peaks, which were valued at $122 million, for an undisclosed amount. CrossHarbor then submitted a $20 million credit bid for Spanish Peaks to the bankruptcy trustee. That allowed CrossHarbor to counterbid if another group topped its initial bid. And even if CrossHarbor's bid had failed, the company, as a secured creditor, would have received its cash back from the winner. But CrossHarbor was the high bidder at the auction, held in June.

It is not clear how, or when, Boyne Resorts became a partner in the deal.

Now the question is what happens to the ski area and lifts. Will they become public/part of Big Sky Resort or stay private?

Also that sale price is less than $4,600 per acre. Back in the day single lots there were selling for millions.

[SkiBachelor]

Interesting. I assume the Yellowstone Club wanted it to increase its ski-in and ski-out terrain, while Big Sky would benefit from more marketing tactics, like skiable acres and maybe a phenomenal beginner/learn to ski area.

[Peter]

SkiBachelor, on 26 July 2013 - 07:23 AM, said:

Interesting. I assume the Yellowstone Club wanted it to increase its ski-in and ski-out terrain, while Big Sky would benefit from more marketing tactics, like skiable acres and maybe a phenomenal beginner/learn to ski area.

For those who aren't familiar with the Big Sky/Moonlight/YC/SP complex, here is a map of the 39 lifts between the 4 resorts.

Red=Moonlight Basin
Blue=Big Sky Resort
Purple=Spanish Peaks
Yellow=Yellowstone Club

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[DonaldMReif]

Peter, on 26 July 2013 - 07:45 AM, said:

For those who aren't familiar with the Big Sky/Moonlight/YC/SP complex, here is a map of the 39 lifts between the 4 resorts.

Red=Moonlight Basin
Blue=Big Sky Resort
Purple=Spanish Peaks
Yellow=Yellowstone Club

Based on that map, Big Sky would have the most to benefit by absorbing the Spanish Peaks terrain.

[floridaskier]

What's the status of the Yellowstone Club these days?