Industry News
Every skier or snowboarder has probably dreamed of owning a ski resort one day and how amazing that feeling would be. A few smaller ski resorts each year usually pop up on the market at a relatively affordable price. Those resorts are not huge mega-resorts that very few could afford but are for sale for under $5 million. A group of friends could form a Co-op, and with the right capital investments and financial requirements, a ski resort could be yours.
That dream of owning a ski resort could be possible with the announcement from the Umatilla National Forest on its website stating, “Request for Expression of Interest for someone to manage and operate Spout Springs.” There was no update on the cost of the ski area in the announcement, but in 2020, the resort was put on the market for just $1.25 million.
Spout Spring is located in the Blue Mountains of Northeastern Oregon and has been having difficulties recently with remaining open. It was last open to the public during the ski season of 2017/18 and has tried to reopen ever since. The ski area sits on 1,413 acres, an elevation of 4,920 feet, 530 feet of vertical, 13 trails, two lifts, and more than 20 miles of Nordic skiing. The base area has two buildings: the main lodge and the rental shop.
According to the announcement, the Umatilla National Forest is looking for entities to operate and manage the Spout Spring Ski Area. The operator will be responsible for running all aspects of the resort, including but not limited to hiring staff and ski patrol, inspection and maintenance of chairlifts, maintenance of groomer fleet, bar and restaurant operation, facility upkeep, and maintenance tasks.
Currently, the Umatilla National Forest is working with organizations within the federal government to determine the next steps once an operator is found. One decision in those steps is to determine if the entity purchasing the ski area would operate under a Special Use Permit for government-owned facilities or if the government would sell the infrastructure. If an entity bought the ski area, the business and improvements would belong to the owner, but the land would remain in federal ownership.
The ski resort is located in a remote area of Oregon and would need investments to get the area back up and running properly. Currently, there are no snowmaking capabilities, and after the closing of Spout Springs in 2017/18, the area has begun to decline. The two chair lifts at the mountain would have to be upgraded as one is currently inoperable and probably needs replacing. If a fixer-upper is something you are interested in, then Spout Springs Ski Area is the mountain you should be looking at. The previous asking price of $1.25 million is worth checking out, even if it does need a little TLC.
For more information on inquiring about Spout Springs, email Darcy Weseman at darcy.weseman@usda.gov.
