Small Colorado Town Buys Ski Resort From Corporate Giant in Historic Deal
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Omar Haddad
- . July 11, 2025
- . Update: July 12, 2025 2:57 am
The small town in Colorado buys one of the American ski resorts, which belongs to one of the biggest manufacturers of skis in the country. The thing is that Nederland, Colorado, a town of 1,500 people, is getting Eldora Mountain Resort which belongs to POWDR Corporation. The present enterprise agreement can be described as the very first one in the history of purchasing a ski resort by the Colorado town since the epoch of the 90-ths of the past century.
Such firms as Vail Resorts and Alterra Mountain Company have monopolised the ski industry over the years. These corporate giants have been acquiring ski areas of small size in the land. Still, the purchase of Eldora Mountain by Nederland shows that even local communities can react and build their mountains at home.
How a Colorado Town Buys a Ski Resort Without Taxpayer Money
The transaction was subject to announcement on July 8, 2025, and it is expected to close at the beginning of October. The specialty of this story is the mode used by the Colorado town to purchase the ski resort without demanding an excess amount of taxes paid by residents. One way it is financing the purchase is by the use of something known as municipal revenue bonds by Nederland.
The only security that these bonds rely upon is the cash that Eldora Mountain generates out of its operations. This covers the lift ticket money, the money received when people purchase an Ikon Pass, sales of food, and equipment rentals. The town clarified that not even a single dollar is going to be paid by the taxpayers in respect to this purchase.
The local tax dollars will not support the revenue bonds. This also does not put the taxpayers at risk, added the town in its statement. This clever funding will see the ski resort pay itself off, basically.
Eldora has been owned by POWDR Corporation since 2016 and will assist in the operations through the next two seasons. This will give Nederland time to learn how to operate the resort with the assistance of 303 Ski, a group of professionals in the Colorado ski industry.
The new ownership of the town will still retain all the current 700 Eldora employees. This is good news to the employees who feared being rendered jobless when the Colorado town acquires the ski resort.
What This Means for Skiers
Among the most significant issues Colorado faces in case any of the towns purchase a ski resort is whether the resort will remain linked to major ski passes. The number one good news is that Eldora is staying in the Ikon Pass permanently. According to the town, Ikon sales give it a reliable revenue stream, and it is necessary that it keep that funding a part of its funding plan.
Eldora was literally one of the original mountains on the Ikon Pass when it came out in 2018. The union attracts consistent income allowing to afford the acquisition.
The town is ambitious oaboutits future. They are interested in summer activities such as mountain biking, so that Eldora becomes year round destination. The press release noted they were planning to make Eldora a year-round community-owned asset-growing recreation to generate local employment and outdoor employment.
People on Reddit are referring to it as a first ski resort that the people have been getting to for a long time. This is an indication that people are fed up with all the ski areas being run by large companies.
