 Poster: A snowHead
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A group of 'community investors' in Ontario, Canada who are attempting to raise $500,000 deposit to buy the Searchmont ski area have attracted angry criticism from a local businessman ... called Beg.
Aziz Beg is angry because a local authority has promised $350,000 towards this deposit, which would go towards the $2.5 million the resort's owner is seeking. Chicago entrepreneur Jack McDermott paid $1 million for Searchmont.
Beg calls the bid "impulsive, void of economic logic and fiscally irresponsible." He adds "The move is highly suspect. Council is going into areas that it knows nothing about. They want to fund projects that are highly expensive and highly risky. But they are doing it with taxpayer money, and they are putting the City’s finances in risk."
This report from LTVNews.com.
Is Beg right?
[to aid your judgement on this issue, here's a 'Spotlight on Searchmont', from OnTheSnow.com]
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Sun 23-10-05 18:16; edited 2 times in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Is Beg just unhappy he didn't get a deal ?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I don't know. But you're probably right that the quote begs the question.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Of course, our beloved Aviemore and its mountain Cairngorm have certainly attracted their fare share of the 'ski welfare state'!
When I worked up there 30 years ago there was the famous publicly-funded Vielhaber ski factory ... which (not surprisingly!) thrived for many years ... until ... somebody took a look at the books without rose-tinted ski goggles on. Leo Vielhaber then popped up in Norway with another ski factory!
The £20 million funicular railway up Cairngorm puts the Vielhaber ski factory in the shade, but at least the trains go in a predictable direction.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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There are precedents for community ownership of ski areas - one of the most striking in North America being Winter Park, where ( I believe) that the city of Denver still owns a substantial share of the equity. (Intrawest recently bought a substantial chunk).
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According to this latest report, Aziz Beg's arguments have fallen on deaf ears. Local councillors have approved the $350,000 contribution to the deposit. And a man called Bruce Strapp (it's not explained who he is) seems to have pulled it off. According to Beg:
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| “Bruce Strapp of the EDC has told Council that he has plans in place to find the 1.4 million required to complete the purchase. Where is he going to get this money?" |
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| Strapp told Council fundraising campaigns to the private and public sector and an ambitious membership drive will begin immediately to achieve the goal. Beg suggests this initiative will fail. |
For more of Beg -v- Strapp, read this latest report from LTVNews.com.
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Of course Beg is right. Nothing could be worse for a ski area than to fall into the hands of a bunch of impecunious blundering amateurs euphemistically described as 'community investors'.
If these guys struggled to raise the cash to buy the place, they'll never be able to raise the capital needed for future renewals. Like most impoverished community schemes, however well meaning, terminal decline will set in due to lack of cash and poor management decisions made for community rather than financial reasons.
Governements don't do business. Did no-one learn anything from the downfall of the British car industry?
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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You never know. Bruce Strapp could be an inspired man, a lion amongst donkeys.
The British car industry wasn't running a mountain ... that might just be a natural magnet to skiers.
Beg comes across to me as a bully. As DGO suggests, he might have a private agenda and want to get his hands on the hill at a knock-down price.
Last edited by You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net. on Tue 25-10-05 14:07; edited 1 time in total
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| Jonny Jones wrote: |
| Did no-one learn anything from the downfall of the British car industry? |
Or the Millennium Dome?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Damn fine ski slope, with plenty of slalom poles. North, south, east and west facing.
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