Vail Resorts Acquires Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort in California, Expanding Its Collection of Premier North American Mountain Resorts

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Oct 25, 2010, 05:30 ET

BROOMFIELD, Colo., Oct. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: MTN) today announced that it has closed on the acquisition of Northstar-at-Tahoe™ Resort in North Lake Tahoe, Calif., one of the premier mountain resort destinations in North America. Vail Resorts acquired the stock of the companies that operate Northstar-at-Tahoe from Booth Creek Resort Properties LLC and other sellers for total consideration of $63 million. The operations of Northstar-at-Tahoe are conducted on land owned by CNL Lifestyle Properties, Inc. which will be leased to Vail Resorts under a long-term agreement. Vail Resorts now operates two mountain resorts in the Lake Tahoe region, also operating Heavenly Mountain Resort in South Lake Tahoe. The Sierra-at-Tahoe resort is not part of the acquisition and will continue to be operated by Booth Creek.

"We are thrilled by the opportunity to bring Northstar-at-Tahoe into our family of world-class mountain resorts. With substantial and diverse ski terrain, a completely renovated and modern base village and outstanding guest service, Northstar-at-Tahoe has been one of the fastest growing mountain resorts over the past few years," said Rob Katz, chairman and chief executive officer of Vail Resorts. "We believe guests of Heavenly and Northstar will greatly appreciate the flexibility to enjoy both the north and south shores of Lake Tahoe as we introduce pass and lift tickets products that offer access to both resorts starting with this coming 2010-2011 ski season."

Northstar is host to a new base area village featuring 35 unique shops and restaurants in more than 100,000 square feet of commercial retail space, a conference center, a 9,000-square-foot skating rink, on-site lodging, special events and more. A winter sports paradise, the mountain offers 19 lifts, 92 ski trails spread across 3,000 acres, snowmaking that covers 50 percent of the ski trails, seven terrain parks and snow sports including alpine and telemark skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and tubing. Summer activities include mountain biking, golfing, scenic lift rides for sightseeing and hiking, fly-fishing and more. During the 2009-2010 ski season, Northstar-at-Tahoe saw more than 700,000 skier visits.

Last winter season, The Ritz-Carlton Highlands, Lake Tahoe was unveiled at mid-mountain featuring ski-in, ski-out access; mountain valet services; Manzanita, the resort's signature restaurant created by renowned San Francisco celebrity chef Traci Des Jardins; and a 17,000-square-foot spa and fitness center. The year-round resort property includes 170 guest rooms, 23 private Ritz-Carlton Residences and 25 Ritz-Carlton Club fractional ownership units. The resort installed and operates the new Highlands Gondola with eight-passenger cabins, providing a direct connection between the Village at Northstar™ and The Ritz-Carlton Highlands, Lake Tahoe. Northstar also expanded and redesigned its beginner teaching area to include more of the sculpted Smart Terrain™ that the resort has successfully demonstrated helps to improve the learning curve for beginner skiers and snowboarders.

George Gillett, chief executive officer, Chris Ryman, president and chief operating officer, and Betsy Cole, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Booth Creek, will no longer have management positions at Northstar-at-Tahoe. Vail Resorts announced that Julie Maurer, vice president of marketing and sales at Booth Creek will immediately become a vice president of marketing with Vail Resorts, overseeing the marketing and sales of both Heavenly Mountain Resort and Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort. Vail Resorts announced that it will begin an immediate search for a new general manager of Northstar-at-Tahoe, which will include both internal and external candidates.

"I want to thank George, the Gillett family, Chris and Betsy for their vision and leadership in bringing the Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort to world-class status over these past years," said Katz. "We are incredibly excited to bring the entire Northstar team into the Vail Resorts family. They have all been responsible for one of the great success stories in the mountain resort industry today."

About Vail Resorts

Vail Resorts, Inc., through its subsidiaries, is the leading mountain resort operator in the United States. The Company's subsidiaries operate the mountain resort properties of Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone mountain resorts in Colorado, and Heavenly Mountain Resort and Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort in the Lake Tahoe area of California and Nevada, and the Grand Teton Lodge Company in Jackson Hole, Wyo. The Company's subsidiary, RockResorts, a luxury resort hotel company, manages casually elegant properties across the United States and in the Caribbean. Vail Resorts Development Company is the real estate planning, development and construction subsidiary of Vail Resorts, Inc. Vail Resorts is a publicly held company traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: MTN). The Vail Resorts company website is www.vailresorts.com and consumer website is www.snow.com.