Every time we think this story just can't get any more dramatic (or sickening), it does. Park City Mountain Resort is frantically trying to avoid eviction from the upper part of their ski area after recent court rulings stated that they failed to renew their lease from Talisker Land Holdings. We detailed their rationale yesterday, but PCMR is pushing their case in the press by outlining just how bad the situation would be if the judge rules that PCMR and Powdr Corp have to get out.
If eviction occurs, PCMR will close immediately. Then, this winter they plan to operate the lower part of the ski area terrain as "reduced winter operations." This would include a terrain park, a ski school, and "limited skiing" on the lower terrain. And because PCMR owns such a small amount of terrain to ski on, three ski lifts (Payday, Eagle, and Three Kings) would have to be modified (read=shortened) to make any skiing happen at all. Basically, Park City Mountain Resort would be crippled.
And now comes the fun part: a crippled PCMR means the loss of A LOT of money. And how nice of PCMR and Powdr Corp to outline just how much money this is. Hundreds of jobs, revenues at 22.5% of current levels, and tens of millions of economic activity gone.
And if that wasn't enough, PCMR has also detailed their plans to remove almost all of the lifts. Whether or not this happens depends entirely on the judge's determination of whether ski lifts are affixed to the land. But PCMR wants everyone to know that the lift dismantling will also take a lot of time and cost a lot of money. About 33 weeks and $3,570,000 according to their estimates.
Meanwhile, Vail Resorts and Talisker have been mostly silent, letting PCMR destroy whatever good will they had left in a community that is tired of this entire lawsuit. Based on your comments and emails (thank you!) Curbed Ski readers seem to think that a Vail-operated PCMR is inevitable at this point, and the willingness of PCMR/Powdr to let the whole town go to hell is not earning them any favors.
For PCMR/Powdr Corp, they want the opportunity to appeal and take their case to the Utah Supreme Court. And while all of that is happening, they want to operate the ski area.
So what will happen next? Expect big announcements next week, too. And read on below for official statements from both sides.
PCMR's attorney, Alan Sullivan, on Thursday's filing:
"The papers we filed today detail the catastrophic consequences for Park City Mountain Resort and the local community that will result if Vail forces PCMR from the leased property before our appeal to the Utah Supreme Court even begins. Our papers ask the Court to postpone any eviction until PCMR has the chance to appeal, and the Utah Supreme Court decides this case. PCMR remains committed to finding a resolution that works for both parties and the community. Vail should come to the table with a concrete offer to resolve this dispute."
Talisker Land Holdings, LLC on Friday issued a prepared statement in response to the PCMR filing:
"The Court has ruled that PCMR's lease with Talisker expired on April 30, 2011. PCMR has now had use of Talisker's land for more than three years without paying rent, all the while making enormous profits. PCMR filed seven different claims with the Court relating to the lease and each one has now been dismissed. Yesterday's motions are nothing more than PCMR's latest unfounded attempt at delay. PCMR has publicly admitted that they hope to convince Utah courts to ignore 100 years of their own precedents and adopt the law of other states. With all due respect, that is an abuse of our legal system and Talisker has no intention of allowing PCMR's misguided efforts to continue. A solution cannot be reached, for next season or the long-term, until PCMR finally acknowledges that their lease has expired, ends their legal maneuvering and begins to talk about realistic solutions to this situation."
· PCMR warns of 'catastrophic' impact of an eviction [Park Record]
· PCMR details round-the-clock plans to dismantle lifts, infrastructure [Park Record]
· Lawsuit-Plagued Powdr CEO is Park City's Richest Pariah [Curbed Ski]
· Will Canyons and PCMR Combine to Form Another Vail Mtn? [Curbed Ski]
· All Talisker-PCMR Coverage [Curbed Ski]
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