Highway Star wrote:Barring any deals being struck, they are most likely to pay the other $19M bond amount in the spring, and continue to operate next year. That means appeals for the next two years plus, a final judgement $50M-$80M that wipes out their profits for the next two years or a messy bankruptcy declared by the PCMR holding companies that could drag out for another couple years. Vail gets $10M-$15M+ rent after the judgement, or buys out PCMR, or splits off the upper mountain.
None of this is good for POWDR or Killington's future prospects - we're looking at 2-5 years of low investment, no Village, Interconnect, etc. Might even be lean this year with regards to snowmaking, operations, and season length. So keep your fingers crossed for them cutting some sort of deal or selling off Killington to another operator. I wonder how the investors who hold SPLand feel about their investment not having any really prospects for the next 2-5 years, when it's already been going nowhere for 12 years....?
The whole idea of triple damages in eviction is to give the squatter huge motivation to get off. As the dust settles and tempers cool over the next year, and appeals look thin, PCMR might not opt to place the bond for the second year. Cooler heads will decide that based on profitability when paying 15M in rent. There will likely be a ruling by then on lift removal or not. If the lifts are allowed to be removed, PCMR will need time to do the work, and that will interfere with staying open.
When you appeal, you don't get to retry the case. You don't argue the facts of the case. You argue that the court made an error on a ruling, or that some procedure was faulty. I haven't read anywhere any instances of Ryan's rulings being questionable. The fraud case will go nowhere. The eviction will likely stand.
While none of this bodes well for PCMR, we're still not sure if or how it will affect other PWDR resorts. The Cummings have deep pockets. A prudent businessman will not let all the apples in the barrel go just because one is going bad. The Killington revenue stream is worth maintaining, and that means continuing operations pretty much the same as they have always been. If the snow guns light up by the 3rd week in October, we'll know.
As for the interconnect and the Village - I see that as the 10 lbs we all want to lose. We all want to, we all say its just around the corner, but do we ever do it? If the Cummings and the Hunts don't do it, who will? Because it can't be about not having the cash. That means there is a
reason not to do it. Wake up, Village People.
