Highmount, NY – Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) officials are reportedly in talks with New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Spending and Government Efficiency (SAGE) Commission to consider taking over operation of Belleyare Mountain Ski Center from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), possibly as soon as next winter.

While no decisions have yet been made, some officials close to the discussions believe that ORDA, which currently operates both Whiteface Mountain and Gore Mountain ski areas in the Adirondack Mountains further north, has the experience to better manage Belleayre and realize cost efficiencies.  They indicate that a legal and financial analysis would need to occur before anything moved forward.

Budget information from the DEC shows that Belleayre frequently runs at an operational loss, sometimes reaching $1 million annually. Officials at neighboring privately operated ski areas have often voiced criticism of the DEC’s financing and marketing methods at Belleayre that they assert stifle regional competition amongst Catskill ski areas.