Vail Resorts closes acquisition of Kirkwood Mountain Resort at Lake Tahoe

It is official. Kirkwood Mountain Resort is now officially under the umbrella of ski industry giant Vail Resorts, Inc.
The news, made public Thursday, came after negotiations earlier this year. Vail Resorts now operates three mountain resorts in the Lake Tahoe region. The other two are Heavenly Mountain Resort and Northstar California. The sale includes the ski resort and undeveloped sites at the center of the base area. Financial terms of the deal was around $18 million. The seller retains a participation interest in the base area parcels and continues to own the remainder of the real estate development sites, according to a press statement.

Also within the deal Vail Resorts announced the power plant that the Kirkwood Meadows Public Utility broke ground on last May is now fully operational and should provide reliable power service to Kirkwood for many years to come, the press statement said.

Vail Resorts is already delivering value from the acquisition to its guests. This season, Heavenly and Northstar pass holders can ski and ride at Kirkwood and Kirkwood pass holders can visit Northstar and Heavenly. The Company reported that they are already seeing thousands of reciprocal visits from pass holders at the three resorts.

With the previous announcement of the Kirkwood acquisition, Vail Resorts immediately began including Kirkwood in its season pass offering. The company recently announced its 2012-2013 season pass offering which includes the new Tahoe Local Pass that provides access to more than 10,000 total skiable acres between Kirkwood, Heavenly Mountain Resort and Northstar California. Priced at $419, Tahoe Local pass holders receive seven-day-per-week access to all three Tahoe resorts for $80 less than last year’s comparable Epic Local Pass. Guests of Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood now have a variety of season pass options to choose from depending on when and how often they want to ski and ride.

Here's what's being offered by Vail Resorts
— New for 2012-2013, the Tahoe Local Pass™ offers skiing and riding seven days a week to Heavenly, Northstar, and Kirkwood resorts for $419. The Tahoe Local Pass includes access on Saturdays at all three Tahoe resorts with limited holiday restrictions and $50 pass holder tickets available for purchase during blackout dates. Priced $80 less than last year’s Epic Local Pass, the Tahoe Local Pass pays for itself in just over four days.

— The Tahoe Value Pass™, available for $379, includes skiing or riding seven days a week at Heavenly, skiing and riding at Northstar and Kirkwood on Sunday-Friday, and restricted on all Saturdays at Northstar and Kirkwood. Holiday restrictions apply, but pass holders can purchase a $50 ticket to any of the three resorts on restricted dates. In less than four days of skiing or riding, the Tahoe Value Pass pays for itself.

— The Epic Pass™, the best season pass deal in the ski industry, offers unlimited, unrestricted skiing at Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Heavenly, Northstar, Kirkwood and Arapahoe Basin for $659. The Epic Pass pays for itself in less than six days on the mountain.

— Epic 7-Day™ pays for itself in less than five days and is ideal for people who don’t plan to ski more than seven days. The Epic 7-Day gives skiers and snowboarders a total of seven unrestricted days of skiing at Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Heavenly, Northstar and Arapahoe Basin anytime during the season for $509.

The prices listed above are only guaranteed through April 15, 2012, and Vail Resorts is giving guests the option to lock in these prices now with a $49 down payment, with the remainder of the balance due in mid- September 2012. Tahoe Local and Tahoe Value Passes purchased before April 15 will receive six Buddy Tickets as an added benefit (after the 15th, passes will only come with two Buddy Tickets). For more information about 2012-2013 season passes, visit www.epicpass.com.