The Lewiston Sun Journal reports that Lost Valley Ski Area owners Linc Hayes and Connie King have found a buyer to keep the Auburn ski area lifts turning. Robert Scott Shanaman is the perspective buyer of the small new England ski area in hopes of improving the skiing experience there.
Friday night, King and Hayes agreed to sell the ski area to Shanaman, but the deal is contingent upon a financing agreement being approved. The official deal is expected to go through early next year, but Shanaman has taken over operations under contract until the deal is officially approved.
“This is going to be a ski area first. Our focus is going to be on improving the ski experience. Our money is going to go into snow making and trail improvements and lift improvements.” -Robert Scott Shanaman told Maine Public Broadcasting Network about his plans for Lost Valley Ski Area.
Lost Valley Ski Area went up for sale after owners Linc Hayes and Connie King found themselves in $1.6 million in debt. They announced after the 2013-2014 season that they would have a difficult time opening up for the 2014-2015 season due to those financial issues.
A local group that called themselves the Friends of Lost Valley was able to raise about $23,000 to open up the ski area in mid January and keep one lift spinning for the remainder of the season. The Lost Valley Ski Area is a center point for the community of Auburn, Maine and is a great place for community member interaction.
“Get out there, get active, be with your family, be with your friends. We’re pretty lucky to have a resource like that in our community.” -Karen Buldoc told Maine Public Broadcasting Network about the benefits of Lost Valley.
Robert Scott Shanaman decided to purchase the ski area after he was informed that Connie and Linc were in financial trouble. Shanaman approached King about his interest in purchasing the ski area before it was even on the market. Robert currently owns a New Hampshire-based lift inspection and maintenance company that has repaired lifts at Lost Valley for the past decade.
Through his experience in lift inspection and maintenance, he has noticed that smaller ski resorts tend to be the most profitable. Shanaman has stated that he plans to work on improving the skiing aspects of the resorts instead of focusing on the banquet and conference centers at the ski area.
“I’ve always thought that it was a great little place and has a lot of potential.” -Robert Scott Shanaman told Maine Public Broadcasting Network about his motive in purchasing Lost Valley.
