Whistler For Sale
It’s around 100 days – depending on the weather – until the Whistler Bike Park’s 2010 opening. That’s great news for riders, and the upcoming Olympics should be good news for Intrawest over the long term. Less cheery is news that Intrawest’s owner, Fortress Investment Group, is up against the wall after failing to make a half billion dollar payment on their debt.
The lenders don’t want to waste any time forcing Fortress to put Intrawest on the auction block – setting Feb. 19th as their target date. That’s right – smack in the middle of the 2010 Winter Olympics. While this is no PR bonanza it appears that the games should proceed as scheduled.
The good news for those of us who like to ride and slide at Whistler year round is that Whistler has always been a well run organization with good people at the helm. While the money at the top may change, with luck it will be business as usual for resort operations right through the summer riding season. Not to mention the rest of the winter. Whistler has been getting some great snow lately – and I sampled 47 cms of it one week ago. That’s got to help the bottom line.
Anything to say about the best mountain bike park in the world (and a pretty sweet ski resort)? Lay it down here…
For more info on this story here are some links:
Globe and Mail: Lenders plan to auction Intrawest assets
CBC News : Whistler lenders move to foreclose
NY Times: Creditors Plan Auction Of Stake In Olympic Ski Venues
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