Park City, Utah
What happens next ski season depends largely on what happens this summer in Park City. City officials and business owners are looking to find a solution to a land dispute that threatens to keep skiers off the mountain at Park City Mountain Resort. Deseret News reports that if the two feuding parties do not reach an agreement soon, there could be major repercussions for the surrounding business community.
The Park City Mountain resort and landowner Talisker Corp. have entered into court mandated arbitration after the resort failed to renew its lease of about 3,000 acres of mountain terrain. Talisker served the resort with an eviction notice which was upheld in district court in May. Talisker has entered into a deal with Vail Resorts that would allow them to operate on the Park City land should arbitration go in their favor.
If an agreement is not reached, Talisker could be left with a mountain without a base of access and Powdr. Corp will own a base without any mountain. Without a resolution, city officials fear there could be dire consequences for local businesses, especially the hospitality sector.
“It impacts the lodging industry, the restaurant industry, reservations for ski schools, et cetera,” Park City Mayor Jack Thomas said. “We need to know that we’re opening earlier rather than later.”
While the city cannot take sides, Thomas has expressed that the city wishes to see no disruption to the service economy that a resort closure would present. A fully functional resort at the beginning of the ski season is the most desirable resolution.
“It’s really a legal matter between two entities,” he said. “Of course, the city could suffer the consequences of the resolution or not resolving this issue.”
Read more at Deseret News.
