Industry News
Pacific Group Resorts Inc. (PGRI) who purchased Jay Peak Resort for $76 million in a Sept. 8 auction, has no major changes in store for the mountain this upcoming 2022/2023 Winter. The transaction is expected to officially close sometime in October after the resort group’s bid was cleared by the U.S District Court of Florida on Sept. 16. Jay Peak will become the sixth resort in North America owned by the corporation.
According to a release, PGRI’s president and CEO, Vern Greco, said no major changes are planned for the winter operations program at Jay Peak. All existing season passes and multi-resort pass arrangements at the resort, including the Indy Pass, will be honored this year. Greco stated:
“Jay has a high quality team of dedicated employees who have weathered the uncertainty of the receivership for a long time. We look forward to bringing renewed stability to the property and its staff, we’re enthusiastic about the prospects for the resort, and we are delighted to be in Vermont.”
Additionally, SAM Magazine reported that PGRI does not plan to make any immediate changes to Jay Peak’s pass products, leadership team, upper management, or resort infrastructure for the season ahead. PGRI chief marketing officer Christian Knapp told the magazine:
“Our plan is to spend our first season on a ‘listening and learning tour’ with staff and customers. Jay is a special place with a passionate following. It has enormous cultural resonance, and we have great respect for that.”
Knapp also indicated that a large part of Jay’s path to success will include winning back Canadian skiers and riders. As Canada will soon drop its Covid-19 vaccination requirement, recovering customers north of the border will be critical for the future growth of the resort this season and beyond.
PGRI may also seek to invest in infrastructure like snowmaking and water storage which can be key to a resort’s success. The resort group which owns Ragged Mountain Resort in New Hampshire and Powderhorn Mountain Resort in Colorado, in addition to properties in British Columbia, Virginia, and Maryland, has spent millions in recent years on infrastructure investments at its properties.
Prior to the sale, Jay Peak Moutain Resort had been on the market for about three years and was overseen by a court-appointed receiver after investor fraud allegations were made against its ex-owner. Jay Peak is the largest taxpayer in Jay, VT, and approximately 550 people live in the municipality, located six miles south of the Canadian border.
