Wisp Resort to be Sold?
August 26, 2011
16 posts
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Heard a rumor, from a reliable source, that the Wisp Resort, DC Development and all related entities are being sold to the Nutting Family. They are the Current Owner's of Seven Springs in PA. Can anyone confirm this rumor?
Might explain why Wisp had a season pass agreement with 7 Springs last winter...at least I think it was with 7Springs.
The Colonel
Now, if only Jim Justice (The Greenbrier) could buy Snowshoe and turn it into a ski/all season resort.
Now, if only Jim Justice (The Greenbrier) could buy Snowshoe and turn it into a ski/all season resort.
Amen to that one. He'd have a mtn top casino built up there in no time.
Amen to that one. He'd have a mtn top casino built up there in no time.
Would love to see it transformed back into a Resort, with Security personnel year-round, Courtesy Patrol, Safety Patrol...
New GM has a lot of great ideas for turning it into a Resort, but would guess hands are tied by Intrawest. Man, remember back when there was so much going on, they actually needed volunteers to help out (when was that?)LOL
You're soooo right... Last month, I had my property broken in and ransacked. And this isn't an isolated incident. Snowshoe "Security" aren't even deputized, nor do they have any authority. Heavens, our Resident Manager at our condo complex has more authority as the agent of a Condo Board than Snowshoe Security. The police had to come from 40 miles away. Just imagine if there was a serious security incident. Then there was the gutting of the Courtesy Patrol three years ago and not coincidental, a rise in injuries, "ski raging" incidents, and the like. As well, the elimination of the volunteer Good Will Ambassadors. I can't understand the current management....
Wonder how long til the general public "catches on"?
BOA, Symphony, etc. Add another Event loss...per the Poco Times: Freedom Fest bids farewell. Intrawest well on their way to their dream of 1-Season-or-less. "We've tried lousy service, lousy food, exorbitant lift prices, dangerous conditions...now what more can we do to just get rid of those darned skiers?" LOL
I'm not sure when the actual race was, but I watched(Versus TV) an ATV race that SS put on and there seemed to be a good size crowd on hand.
So is Wisp being sold?
... an ATV race that SS put on and there seemed to be a good size crowd on hand.
That would be a real kick-in-the-____ if the Greenbrier bought Wisp !!!
Yes...one event/ONE day - 1/365th of the year - can't run much a business like that?!?
AND - there were a lot of fights and damage that weekend. With NO SECURITY at SS our condo complex had to pay off-duty cops $150/day each for 2 of them to protect just our ONE compex! We ended up with midnight evictions too. Anyone that wants a cheap stay can just break into any condo and stay-for-free!!! No one to stop you, 'cept our place!!!
Considering how many posts are on this thread, other than the title and initial "rumor", have seen no real information that would indicate that WISP is being sold.
Then you need to start a new thread:
"Wisp Sold Breaking News"
LOL LOL
Was just on kdka that the company that owns wisp is under financial trouble and may sell the resort...
FULL AP ARTICLE FROM WTOP
MCHENRY, Md. - The owners of Maryland's only ski resort say they're
considering selling the landmark property to resolve financial
problems linked to a slide in home construction around nearby Deep
Creek Lake.
Karen Myers says selling the Wisp Resort is the last option she and
her partners in DC Development LLC would pursue to repay more than $23
million to BB&T Corp. of Winston-Salem, N.C. They're also seeking new
investors in their businesses. But in an interview this week at the
base of 3,100-foot Marsh Mountain, Myers said everything is on the
table if they can't buy more time.
"One of my goals really was to be a part of Wisp in the next stage of
development," said Myers, whose group has owned the resort since 2001.
"I hope that I'm a part of the team that does it."
She said Wisp is in no danger of closing.
The resort isn't directly involved in the financial dispute, which
stems from slower-than-expected sales of home sites in DC
Development's nearby Lodestone golf-course community. Wisp is run by
another company, Recreational Industries Inc., also owned by Myers and
partners Gary Daum of Bethel Park, Pa., and Steven Richards of
McHenry.
Myers said they'd like to sell Lodestone but there's little demand
these days for subdivisions with just home sites. The property has
paved roads and infrastructure but only 20 of the 197 lots have been
sold.
Wisp, on the other hand, is a profitable business with $16 million in
annual sales, state-of-the-art snowmaking equipment and features that
drew 195,000 skier visits last season, said General Manager Tim
Prather.
Since its founding in1955, Wisp has made Maryland's westernmost county
a year-round tourist destination. Vacation homes, some worth millions,
ring the 3,600-acre lake. The ski resort is the county's sixth-largest
employer with a work force that swells from 225 in the summer to 650
in the winter.
"They're a big draw. They're a big part of Deep Creek's success," said
Garrett County Administrator R. Lamont Pagenhardt.
So when BB&T filed court documents in July revealing that DC
Development was in default, waves of worry swept across the lakeside
community. Rumors spread that Wisp had already been sold to competitor
Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Seven Springs, Pa., about 40 miles
north.
Prather acknowledged that Seven Springs is among three parties that
have expressed interest in buying Wisp. A Seven Springs spokesman
declined to comment.
Myers said the partners would rather persuade the bank to restructure
the loan. She said they hope to make a restructuring pitch to the
lender in late September or early October.
BB&T's lawyer, Louis J. Ebert, declined to comment on the dispute.
Meanwhile, Myers and her partners have asked Gov. Martin O'Malley and
Garrett County's congressional members to intercede. On Thursday,
spokeswomen for U.S. Sens. Barbara Mikulski and Ben Cardin said the
senators' staffs have urged the Maryland Department of Business and
Economic Development to provide any available support. Cardin
spokeswoman Susan Sullam said Cardin's office also called the U.S.
Small Business Administration on DC Development's behalf.
O'Malley's office didn't respond to questions from The Associated
Press about the matter.
Pagenhardt provided a letter that he sent to BB&T on the county's
behalf last week asking the bank to be flexible in its dealings with
Wisp.
The DC Development partners also have reduced their asking prices on
Lodestone home sites by up to 28 percent _ now $160,000 to $360,000 _
to stimulate sales.
The partners obtained the BB&T loan in 2007 to fund development of an
18-hole golf course and 197 home sites. The course, designed by golfer
Hale Irwin, is complete but few lots have been sold.
Myers sees signs of a fledgling rebound in Garrett County home sales,
up 15 percent this year over last. She said she's optimistic about the
future of the area she calls the "Lake Tahoe of the East."
"I'm very, very bullish on Garrett County and Deep Creek Lake," she
said. "As the economy heals _ double crossed fingers _ and people are
more confident again, this area is going to do just fine."
I wonder if the Buncher's are also in the running. I doubt they would want 7Springs to own both resorts. It may put them out of business.
