Quiet week, yet:
-----Wilkes-Barre's Wachovia Arena.....nope. Not for sale;
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------Montage Mountain is now (ugh) Sno Mountain, thanks to (not so) slick Philadelphia investors who bought it...... Problem is.... Montage or Sno...there isn't any real stuff...too warm.....but, then again, not every city has its own ski resort within its borders.....even if the skiiing isn't great right now.....
12/17/2006
Mountain of changes under way
BY JAMES HAGGERTY
STAFF WRITER
Denis Carlson hopes a new look, new attractions, improved ski conditions and better marketing sweep Sno Mountain to financial success.
“When we looked at this place, what gave us the confidence to turn it around was that it was either outdated or it was done wrong,” said Mr. Carlson, president of Sno Mountain, a Philadelphia-based investment group that acquired the former Montage ski complex from Lackawanna County for $5.1 million on Nov. 6.
Sno Mountain was scheduled to open Friday, but unseasonably mild weather prevented snow making to hit that goal. The facility had 185 of its 193 new snowmaking guns in place Thursday, hopes to resume snowmaking Wednesday and open as soon as weather permits, Mr. Carlson said. Only 23 snowmaking guns were operable when the group acquired the property, Mr. Carlson said.
“They had no snow, so they had no people here,” he said.
The investment group has committed to about $20 million in improvements, including installation of a water park next summer. Engineering work on that addition is under way.
Analysts said the early steps look positive for Sno Mountain.
“If these guys have the right kind of background or have the right types of experience, they might be able to make a go where the county couldn’t,” said Bill Haralsen, a recreation and tourism consultant from Richardson, Texas, who did the feasibility study on the development of the Camelbeach water park at the Camelback ski resort in Tannersville. “Cities and counties really have a difficult time running properties like that. ... I think there’s a pretty good chance they’ll be able to pull it off.”
Major marketing changes are under way to turn Sno Mountain away from Montage’s financial difficulties. Montage lost about $700,000 last winter and $335,000 the season before.
“We’re putting about $450,000 into marketing,” Mr. Carlson said. “As we increase revenues, we’ll increase marketing.”
Sno Mountain has about 20 billboards posted along Interstate 81 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike and in the Allentown area, is advertising on radio and television and its Web site draws about 120,000 hits a day, Mr. Carlson said.
It has contracted with a Philadelphia-area bus company for more tours, is offering special rates to school districts for student skiing and has special four-hour lift tickets allowing people to ski in any period between the expanded hours of 9 a.m. and 10 p.m. Montage opened at noon.
Early marketing efforts are bringing results.
Montage only sold about 375 season passes last season, but Sno Mountain already has sold about 800.
“Why would you want to buy a season pass when the mountain doesn’t open until noon?” Mr. Carlson wondered.
Other skiing changes this season include a new terrain park with a half-pipe for snowboarding, a conveyor belt for snow tubers and youngsters too small for ski lifts, establishment of a ski school, new snow groomers and plow trucks, an overhauled ski shop, an expanded ski and snowboard rental area including an outdoor tent and all new equipment.
“The equipment that the county had for people was about 20 years old,” Mr. Carlson said.
In addition, the lodge has been renovated, including new kitchens and an overhaul of the bar and cafe area with expanded seating in both. A new day-care facility is in place and the medical center has been restored.
Although the preliminary steps look positive for Sno Mountain, ski areas require a lot of up-front investment in maintenance, upkeep and improvements before they begin turning the corner, said James Chung, president of Reach Advisors, a consulting firm in Belmont, Mass., that serves the recreation and resort industry.
“It’s hard to make it just off the lift ticket operations on their own,” Mr. Chung said. “They are going to have to be smart with capital allocations, marketing and customer service. If they can’t hit on those three, they are not the last owners of this place. They just have to be very business focused.”
Fixed expenses, such as maintenance and snow making, are the biggest financial burdens for ski areas to shoulder, Mr. Chung added.
“It costs a lot to run a quality ski area,” he said. “Once they cover the fixed costs, it’s all gravy.”
Mr. Carlson said Sno Mountain has some advantages at the start of operations.
The investors have about $8 million in equity in the complex, he said, adding, “We have very little debt on the facility at this point.”
Also, Sno Mountain will operate the restaurant, bar and vending area on its own, making healthy profits on services that were subcontracted when the county operated Montage, Mr. Carlson said.
“None of that revenue went into the mountain,” he said.
Spokesmen for other regional ski areas said Sno Mountain’s initial efforts address Montage’s deficiencies and are a positive for the regional ski industry.
“I think most of those improvements are a necessity,” said Gregg Confer, general manager at Elk Mountain near Union Dale. “You’ve got to have snow to make it a success in this business.”
Craig Low, spokesman for Camelback, said the investment at Sno Mountain helps the region’s reputation as a ski destination.
“It’s nice to see ski areas developing and growing. Any growth in our sport is good for everybody,” he said. “It’s better that we have a wide selection of ski resorts in the region.”
Contact the writer:
jhaggerty@timesshamrock.com