Vail Resorts to buy operator of Grand Teton lodges

DENVER (AP) - Vail Resorts Inc. wants to venture beyond Colorado and the ski business for the first time by spending $50 million to buy the operator of three summer lodges inside Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park.

Vail chief executive officer Adam Aron said Monday they reached a tentative agreement to purchase Grand Teton Lodge Co. from CSX Corp.

The facilities include the Jenny Lake Lodge, founded in 1922 at the foot of the 13,772-foot Grand Teton and the Jackson Lake Lodge, founded in 1955 by the Rockefeller family. The company also owns the Jackson Hole Golf & Tennis Club and 30 undeveloped acres.

"They're some of the best lodging property in all of the national parks system," said Aron, also Vail's chairman.

Craig McQueen of the Richmond, Va.-based CSX said they agreed to sell Grand Teton because it is outside CSX's core transportation business. "It was a good opportunity for the right kind of buyer," he said.

If the acquisition is approved by the National Park Service, it will mark Vail's first non-ski-related summer resort and its first property outside Colorado.

"We've made no secret of the fact that we would like to expand our resort business," Aron said.

"We constantly look at other resorts," he said. "We have looked primarily in the American West because it's so magnificent here."

He declined to comment on specific talks.

Vail's plan mirrors an industry effort to broaden a business that has been largely dependent on weather and a stagnant skier population.

Last fall, American Skiing Co. proposed a massive development plan for Killington, Vt., that includes hotels, townhomes, and commercial and retail buildings. Intrawest also unveiled a $66 million improvement project for Copper Mountain, including homes and businesses.

Aron said he first approached CSX about Grand Teton two years ago, but the company was not interested. Eventually, CSX agreed to sell. The deal is expected to be finalized in early summer.

Grand Teton has 42 year-round employees, who will retain their jobs, and about 1,050 between mid-May and mid-October, when the lodges are open. The properties range from basic tent cabins to luxurious log cabins.

The Jackson Lake Lodge is built of concrete with 385 rooms; Jenny Lake Lodge has 37 elegant cabins and Colter Bay Village has 166 log cabins furnished with families in mind.

On a busy summer night, the lodges have an estimated 2,600 guests, company officials said. Last season, 234,000 guests were recorded. Sales figures were not disclosed.

Aron said Grand Teton has a concessionaire contract with the Park Service to manage the lodges. If the contract is not renewed, the subsequent concessionaire will have to buy out Vail's interest, he said.

He said they are looking at ways to improve the lodges, including the installation of heating and other equipment to make them suitable for winter.

Vail Resorts owns Vail, Breckenridge, Keystone, Beaver Creek, and owns or operates eight hotels, three golf courses and about 82 restaurants.