VAIL, Colo., Oct. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Adam Aron, chairman and chief
executive officer of Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: MTN) announced today that a
joint venture agreement has been signed with a venture led by an affiliate of
Continental Gencom for the construction of The Ritz-Carlton(R), Bachelor
Gulch(R). This will be the third Ritz-Carlton hotel for Continental Gencom,
as penthouse residences close.
The penthouse owners will have use of the Bachelor Gulch Club, including Zach's
Cabin, the luxury on-mountain restaurant built in 1999. The penthouse owners,
as well as all the hotel guests, will be able to access the Red Sky Ranch golf
community, which will feature two new 18-hole championship courses designed by
Tom Fazio and Greg Norman respectively once all approvals are received.
Construction of the Fazio course, located 10 miles west of Bachelor Gulch,
began in the spring of 2000 and the course is projected to open in the summer
of 2002.
Separately, the Company will contract with the hotel joint venture for
Vail Resorts to acquire the 20,000-square-foot spa, plus 8,500 square feet of
skier services area, at the developer's cost of approximately $13 million.
The majority of this expense will be recouped through membership sales in the
Bachelor Gulch Club.
ADJACENT DEVELOPMENT OF INTERVAL OWNERSHIP CONDOMINIUMS
Aron also announced that a contract for the development of interval
ownership condominiums, to be situated immediately adjacent to the hotel, was
also signed. Current plans feature approximately 54 multi-week interval
units, with an estimated completion date in late 2002. Vail Resorts will not
have an ownership stake in the interval project. However, the Company will
receive $8 million for the sale of land, carried at $2.2 million book value,
on which the interval ownership condominiums will sit. $4.5 million of this
will be received at the time of the land conveyance, which is expected to
close by October 30, and $3.5 million will be received as interval ownership
condominiums close over the next several years.
Under the terms of the agreement, Vail Resorts will provide ski, golf and
club privileges for a fee of $6.5 million, to be received as interval
ownership condominiums close, and annual dues of approximately $1 million per
annum in current dollars. While in residence, the interval owners will have
use of the Bachelor Gulch Club, Ritz-Carlton amenities, spa facilities, and
the Red Sky Ranch golf community.
Vail Resorts, Inc. is the premier destination mountain resort operator in
North America. The company's subsidiaries operate the Colorado resorts of
Vail, Breckenridge, Keystone(R), and Beaver Creek, as well as the Grand Teton
Lodge Company in Jackson, Wyoming. The Vail Resorts website is www.snow.com.
Vail Resorts is a publicly held company traded on the New York Stock Exchange
(NYSE: MTN).
Statements in this press release, other than statements of historical
information, are forward looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe
harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements which speak only as of the date hereof. Such risks and
uncertainties include, but are not limited to, general business and economic
conditions; competitive factors in the ski and resort industry; the weather;
downturn in the vacation real estate market; construction risk, including the
failure to construct the hotel on time and on budget; and failure to receive
anticipated resort revenues from member fees and dues related to the real
estate projects. Investors are also directed to other risks discussed in
documents filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
SOURCE Vail Resorts, Inc.
Logos, product and company names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.