Industry News
Owning and operating a successful ski resort is difficult in the current ski industry. Many factors must be considered before deciding to purchase a business influenced by many variables. The ski industry has been facing challenges for years regarding staffing challenges, climate change, capital investments, sustainability, and rising costs. However, if you have ever wanted an opportunity to own a ski resort, here’s your chance.
Sleeping Giant Ski Area, Wyoming, is for sale at a very affordable cost of only $500,000, which is a steal. According to Zillow, the average Jackson home value is $2,026,346. The recreation area is just 3.4 miles east of the East Entrance to Yellowstone National Park and 50 miles west of Cody, Wyoming. The area is on property owned by the U.S. Forest Service, and the sale is solely for structures and ski infrastructure on the leased property. Sleeping Giant offers recreational downhill skiing, snowboarding, nordic skiing, snowshoeing, and zip-lining in the Big Horn Basin and Greater Yellowstone area.
However, it was closed last year, and it was announced on its website that it would not open again this season. Sleeping Giant faced challenges before the season, like lack of snow, a small flood in the spring, and, most recently, vandalism to its Big Horn Lift in August involving the brand new communication line purchased the previous year. “None of these problems are insurmountable, but taken together with the need to hire many seasonal staff made it clear that rushing to try to get open for the season did not make sense,” Sleeping Giant said on its website.
Nick Piazza, owner of Sleeping Giant Ski Area, is looking for someone to help run the resort or buy it outright. The property went on sale with 307 Real Estate. The mountain had been run as a nonprofit since 2004, a management approach that worked but left the group asking its donors for hundreds of thousands of dollars every year. Piazza works heavily in finance and is the CEO and Partner at SP Capital Management, a private investment vehicle of the Piazza Family and their partners. The firm traditionally focuses on Ukraine, Georgia, and other emerging markets. Piazza was included on the Kyiv, Ukraine Post’s list of Wealthiest and Most Influential Expats in 2012 and was named one of the Top 25 Trailblazing Business Leaders in Ukraine in 2016. He holds a degree from Lake Forest College in Chicago, Illinois.
Even though Piazza is a successful businessman, this does not mean he has the knowledge, experience, and skills necessary to operate a ski resort. However, Piazza, a native of Cody, Wyoming, understands this and is willing to find the right person(s) to assist him in making Sleeping Giant a success. “What we need is someone to come in and live it on a day-to-day basis, which probably isn’t and never planned to be me,” Piazza said. “We’re happy to try and find those kinds of people,” he told the Cowboy State Daily.
Even though Sleeping Giant will not open this season, plans are underway to repair and upgrade its lodges and change the layout of the rental shop and ski patrol rooms. Additional training for its maintenance team on lifts and snowcats is also planned. “We are proud of our work at Sleeping Giant and the many improvements we have made since taking it over,” Sleeping Giant said in its email to the Cowboy State Daily.
Deciding not to open for this season will hopefully give Sleeping Giant the time necessary to find the right person to purchase the resort. Jennifer Thoma, executive director for the Cody Country Chamber of Commerce, said she hopes the decision to focus on improvements will help the ski resort become a “top destination” next year for the 2025-2026 season to the Cowboy State Daily.
