Eldora: Town of Nederland Acquisition

[Eldora Regular]

Quote from the mayor of Nederland....Captain Planet??? Sorry lets get back down to earth and grounded in reality, please.

“If I could be so bold as to say, I don't trust anyone else coming in and owning that ski mountain and doing the cool stuff—doing the things that need to be done,” Sterling said. “I’m taking a little from Captain Planet here, but it's our powers combined that would make this a really amazing publicly-owned asset. And we're getting there, we just need a little bit more time.”

 

[Eldora Regular]

Denver Business Journal ran article today....

“Newly obtained emails show Nederland officials begging for forgiveness while asking for state funds to buy the ski area. "We thought we would have more time."

Please reach out to the Governor's office and voice your opinion. This deal needs to die now, we simply can't have these officials attempting to run Eldora. This whole exercise by Nederland has been a trainwreck and needs to be killed.

Polis email address:

[email protected]

 

[ChrisC]

Wow! It is shocking that Nederland has burned through nearly $2.5 million—roughly 60% of its annual budget—on this acquisition.

The bond market clearly rejected this deal because the financials simply didn't add up. This isn't just a matter of needing more time; investors saw the volatility in the season and realized the underlying business model is fundamentally flawed.

This poor snow year likely saved Eldora from Nederland; better for CO skiers in the long run.



No, they don't just “need more time.” The original deal did not work when Nederland took it to the bond market. Nederland is now acknowledging that investors had concerns and required the town to restructure the financing.

Winter 2025-26 exposed exactly the risk critics feared. Colorado skier visits fell 24%, giving investors a real-world down-snow-year stress test rather than a hypothetical one. Nederland now says investors specifically wanted the deal modeled against that season.

And look at what's changed since they went to market:

• The original April 30 closing deadline passed and the Asset Purchase Agreement expired.
• The financing is being restructured to give bondholders real estate collateral, essentially adding mortgage-like security through a sale-leaseback structure.
• Nederland is trying to raise $20 million from outside sources, including potentially the State of Colorado, to take major capital projects out of the ski-revenue waterfall.
• The assumed borrowing rate has increased from 7.5% to 8.5%, making debt service materially more expensive.
• Nederland has now accumulated approximately $2.5 million in acquisition-related costs, which the town acknowledges it will be responsible for if the transaction fails.

The $20 million is particularly telling. The original premise was that Eldora's operating business could support the acquisition debt and necessary investment in the mountain. Now Nederland wants $20 million of outside money for the Jolly Jug expansion, Corona lift, mountaintop lodge and summer operations so that, during another bad snow year, Eldora's cash can be prioritized toward paying bondholders instead.

That's not simply “taking more time.” It's changing the capital structure because investors weren't comfortable financing the original one.

And 2025-26 helps explain why. Eldora's heavy dependence on Ikon doesn't necessarily provide weather insurance. If roughly 75% of visits are Ikon and reimbursement is substantially redemption-based, consider a simple example:

400,000 normal visits × 75% Ikon = 300,000 Ikon scans.

If a bad winter reduces those to 225,000, that's 75,000 fewer reimbursable scans, unless Eldora's confidential Alterra agreement contains a minimum guarantee or other protection. Nothing publicly disclosed establishes such a guarantee.

What a mess and waste of time. Need a new mayor.

Also, Powdr should not have wasted its time; they are equally to blame. Letting the Nederland mayor think Eldora will fund its sidewalks, along with everything else?

 

[EMSC]

Now Nederland wants $20 million of outside money for the Jolly Jug expansion, Corona lift, mountaintop lodge and summer operations so that, during another bad snow year, Eldora's cash can be prioritized toward paying bondholders instead.

My understanding is they need at least $20M NOW to fund the acquisition to lower the amount bondholders have to fund (eg another part of changing the capital structure along with the sale-leaseback). AND on top of that everyone in town is magically going to 'donate' millions more to fund the 'fun stuff'. Even then she mentions how difficult the first 10 years are going to be to pay the bondholders. Cause people like to donate big bucks to ski lifts and lodges and not to the food bank or kids hospitals instead. Talk about delusional.

Also, Powdr should not have wasted its time; they are equally to blame.

Fully agree. But they know they are going to lose many millions of sale price if they have to put it back on the market to a private buyer that will actually negotiate the price. They are being very greedy and losing the forest for the trees with all the $ signs in their eyes.

 

[ChrisC]

The mayor Nichole Sterling is out of her league: some nuggets

“When we went to market, it was kind of exciting in a couple of respects,” Sterling said. “Investors were like, ‘Wow, this is kind of neat, but we need a couple of things in order to really structure this deal well.’ And it turns out that some of those asks made it just a better deal for us as a municipality.”


The changes are insane:

• Two sources of security for bondholders:
  • the revenue that the mountain already generates; and
  • this mortgage-like collateral structure that's supported by the real estate and all the improvements that we make to the mountain

The waterfall of revenue?

• The second adjustment aims to reduce the debt associated with the acquisition by carving the financing of certain capital improvement projects out from the “waterfall” of ski revenue. “If those capital improvement projects are tied to the waterfall, then that means that we're essentially tied to do them even during a down snow year.”

Sterling wrote that the Town is actively developing a strategy to raise $20 million through philanthropic efforts for these capital improvement projects. According to the Town, this will allow it to prioritize debt obligations in a bad snow year and invest in the mountain in a good year.

“The first contributor we are exploring is the State of Colorado. We are in contact with their team to explore opportunities to jump-start our capital improvements to drive economic vitality.”


“Before this, it was all speculation. Nobody had the actual data as to what a down snow year would look like,” Sterling said. “In many respects, it was like ‘Actually, what a blessing now that we have actual data that we can model against and know what a down snow year looks like.’”


“If I could be so bold as to say, I don't trust anyone else coming in and owning that ski mountain and doing the cool stuff—doing the things that need to be done,” Sterling said. “I’m taking a little from Captain Planet here, but it's our powers combined that would make this a really amazing publicly-owned asset. And we're getting there, we just need a little bit more time.”


Can Nederland buy Eldora and run it respectfully and successfully in the long term?

“We believe the answer is yes,” she wrote. “Your Board of Trustees continues to work hard to finalize this transaction. We aren't stopping. If anything, this process has given us a clearer understanding of what it will take to make community ownership of Eldora a reality and why that work matters so much. So, hang in there, Nederland.”

 

[Eldora Regular]

If I can be so bold as to say….Thanks mayor for finally providing some information and clearly confirming you haven’t got a clue how to acquire (let alone run) a ski resort! Nice job pissing away over $2.5M that could have been used for something constructive or beneficial for your town. Wake up, kill the deal and get back to focusing on the duties you were elected to do.

 

[ChrisC]

The mayor is unqualified to lead this effort. Likely the Town Manager as well, before he went to greener pastures ($). Nederland should not own Eldora. It will damage both Eldora and Nederland, and ultimately, all Front Range skiers lose. A decade of underinvestment. The only beneficiary is Powdr Corp getting the full asking price of $120M.


The new bondholder protections are a major red flag for Eldora skiers.

The issue goes beyond simply making the bond payments. The new structure appears designed to give bondholders stronger protections over Eldora’s cash flow, reserves, and collateral, meaning debt service and required reserves take priority over discretionary capital spending. For nearly a decade, that could severely constrain Eldora’s ability to reinvest in the mountain. Lift replacements, snowmaking expansion, terrain improvements, and lodge projects would all compete for whatever cash remains after protecting bondholders.

Nederland’s scramble to raise another $20 million in outside capital (from the state??) illustrates the problem. Those projects are being carved out because Eldora’s operating cash flow may not support both the acquisition debt and meaningful capital investment.

That shifts the risk to skiers: higher prices, aging infrastructure, and deferred improvements while Eldora’s cash flow and assets are primarily there to protect the acquisition debt. The mountain effectively spends years paying for the purchase instead of investing in the skiing.



“If I could be so bold as to say, I don't trust anyone else coming in and owning that ski mountain and doing the cool stuff—doing the things that need to be done,” Sterling said

This is the part I find ironic. The mayor says she doesn't trust another owner to do the “cool stuff” and make the investments Eldora needs. But Nederland's financing structure may be exactly what makes doing that stuff harder.

A well-capitalized private owner can inject equity when Eldora needs investment. A highly leveraged municipal owner must first satisfy its bondholders.

At the end of the day, Nederland would prioritize the pockets of wealthy bondholders over the resort's long-term health.

Stupid.

 

[ChrisC]

Nederland CO deserves an ironic GoFundMe campaign to "save Eldora" for only $20M.

HELP SAVE ELDORA
"..Don't trust anyone else coming in and owning that ski mountain and doing the cool stuff—doing the things that need to be done”

 

[ChrisC]

T-shirts, merch, socials and website by tomorrow...do some A/B testing.

 

[Eldora Regular]

The mayor is unqualified to lead this effort. Likely the Town Manager as well, before he went to greener pastures ($). Nederland should not own Eldora. It will damage both Eldora and Nederland, and ultimately, all Front Range skiers lose. A decade of underinvestment. The only beneficiary is Powdr Corp getting the full asking price of $120M.


The new bondholder protections are a major red flag for Eldora skiers.

The issue goes beyond simply making the bond payments. The new structure appears designed to give bondholders stronger protections over Eldora’s cash flow, reserves, and collateral, meaning debt service and required reserves take priority over discretionary capital spending. For nearly a decade, that could severely constrain Eldora’s ability to reinvest in the mountain. Lift replacements, snowmaking expansion, terrain improvements, and lodge projects would all compete for whatever cash remains after protecting bondholders.

Nederland’s scramble to raise another $20 million in outside capital (from the state??) illustrates the problem. Those projects are being carved out because Eldora’s operating cash flow may not support both the acquisition debt and meaningful capital investment.

That shifts the risk to skiers: higher prices, aging infrastructure, and deferred improvements while Eldora’s cash flow and assets are primarily there to protect the acquisition debt. The mountain effectively spends years paying for the purchase instead of investing in the skiing.



“If I could be so bold as to say, I don't trust anyone else coming in and owning that ski mountain and doing the cool stuff—doing the things that need to be done,” Sterling said

This is the part I find ironic. The mayor says she doesn't trust another owner to do the “cool stuff” and make the investments Eldora needs. But Nederland's financing structure may be exactly what makes doing that stuff harder.

A well-capitalized private owner can inject equity when Eldora needs investment. A highly leveraged municipal owner must first satisfy its bondholders.

At the end of the day, Nederland would prioritize the pockets of wealthy bondholders over the resort's long-term health.

Stupid.

All good points. It doesn't sound like the mayor understands the investment that POWDR has made into the resort during their ownership. Alpenglow lift has changed the mountain and they have made huge snowmaking improvements, etc. These are the priority improvements that matter - things industry experts understand, budget for and execute on.

Does the Mayor think POWDR didn't want to do more "cool stuff"? Unfortunately, here in the real world, it comes down dollars and cents, except apparently in Nederland where the Mayor and BOT operate with an open checkbook and behind closed doors!

How can Nederland residents possibly standby and allow this open checkbook to continue? Nederland residents, your mayor has spent over $2,500,000 of your taxpayer money and has absolutely ZERO to show for it. Demand some accountability and stop this blatant abuse of power.