Flims, Laax & Falera: Swiss Villages To Block US Purchase

[ChrisC]

Flims, Laax & Falera To Take Over Tourist Facilities For 50 Million Swiss Francs To Block US Purchase

Flims, Laax & Falera To Take Over Tourist Facilities For 50 Million Swiss Francs To Block US Purchase

www.snowindustrynews.com

Swiss Villages Band Together to Buy Flims-Laax-Falera Ski Resort to Block U.S. Takeover - SnowBrains

In a bid to keep one of Switzerland’s largest ski resorts in local hands, the municipalities of Flims, Laax and Falera announced plans on Wednesday, September 24, to jointly purchase the infrastructure of the Flims-Laax-Falera ski area for CHF 94.5 million ($118 million). The proposal, shared by...

snowbrains.com

At some level, Flims-Laax is one of the most American-like resorts:

• Europe’s premier freestyle hub: 4 snowparks, Europe’s largest half-pipe (200 m), and frequent World Cup events.
• Premium-priced Express Lift Queues
• Location: Graubünden canton, eastern Switzerland (near Chur, ~90 min from Zurich). I saw LOTS of traffic heading back to Zurich on a Sunday evening, very Colorado I-70
• Ski area: ~224 km (139 mi) of slopes linked by 28 lifts.
• Vertical drop: ~1,900 m (6,200 ft) — from Vorab Glacier (3,018 m) down to Flims (1,100 m)

Deal​

• The three municipalities (Flims, Laax, Falera) plan to acquire the tourist infrastructure of Weisse Arena Bergbahnen AG (including mountain lifts, restaurants, avalanche systems, etc.) for CHF 50 million to block a potential U.S. investor purchase.
• Ownership would be transferred to Finanz Infra AG, a company that has been managing snowmaking since 2005, which will then lease the assets back to Weisse Arena Bergbahnen AG for operations.

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Financial Structure​

• Total Asset Value: CHF 94.5 million (residual book value).
• Municipal Contributions:
  • Laax: CHF 20 million
  • Falera: CHF 10 million
  • Flims: CHF 2 million + CHF 18 million (already invested in FlemX cable car)
• Other Financing:
  • CHF 20 million loan from Weisse Arena Bergbahnen AG
  • CHF 42.5 million borrowed capital

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Leaseback Terms​

• Weisse Arena Bergbahnen AG continues to operate facilities, covering all costs, depreciation, and future upgrades.
• Minimum operation: 300 days per year.
• Continued discounts for local residents.
• Municipalities won’t need to give further subsidies—rent paid by Weisse Arena will cover costs.

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Stakeholder Positions​

• Municipal leaders: Call the project fair, balanced, and systemically important for protecting local tourism.
• Reto Gurtner (Weisse Arena President): Confirms outside investor interest but supports municipal takeover for long-term stability, even if short-term offers may have been higher.

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Referendums​

• Falera Municipal Assembly: October 23, 2025
• Laax Municipal Assembly: October 24, 2025
• Flims Ballot: October 26, 2025

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Bottom line: The municipalities are executing a “sell-and-lease-back” model to keep critical ski and tourism infrastructure locally controlled, safeguarding it from foreign ownership while ensuring Weisse Arena continues daily operations.

American Model:

Jackson Hole Mountain Resort Remains Locally Owned As Sale Closes

After 32 years of building Jackson Hole Mountain Resort into a Wyoming showplace, Jay, Connie and Betty Kemmerer have sold it to a pair of Jackson Hole…

cowboystatedaily.com

 

[Tony Crocker]

Vail? Their other 2 purchases were in Switzerland. They probably have no chance in Austria, France or Italy with the level of government involvement in ski areas. OTOH Vail's dissident shareholders think Andermatt and Crans-Montana were bad investments. I do not recall if Rob Katz has said anything about them.

 

[ChrisC]

Vail? Their other 2 purchases were in Switzerland.

Assume it would be Vail, since Alterra has stopped purchasing ski resorts and expanded primarily through partnerships. I thought Vail had also shown some interest in Verbier.

Given the cost of a season pass at larger Swiss resorts, Vail could introduce a Switzerland-centric pass if it had acquired a critical mass:

• Verbier Annual Pass: CHF 1,449.00
• Flims-Laax: CHF 1,550.00
• Andermatt: CHF 999
• Crans-Montana: CHF 1,189

Europe still operates under the old ski model: unless you ski more than 20 days per year at the same resort, you typically buy day tickets or other promotions.

While lift tickets are relatively inexpensive, their season passes are not - especially for larger resorts. Vail would need to buy some of the larger ones to attract a significant share of skiers to a multi-resort pass.

The smaller resorts have already banded together at reasonable price points:

• Snow Card Tirol (Austria): Covers over 90 resorts and all 5 glacier resorts. €797. Great for residents of Innsbruck, Salzburg, Munich, and more.
  • SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser – Brixental (villages: Brixen im Thale, Ellmau, Going, Hopfgarten, Itter, Kelchsau, Scheffau, Söll, Westendorf)
  • Axamer Lizum
  • Kühtai
  • Ötz mountain railroads (i.e. some of the Ötz valley resorts)
  • Bergeralm (Steinach am Brenner)
  • Grubigstein / Lermoos
  • Marienberg / Biberwier
  • Nauderer mountain railroads (Nauders)
  • Glungezerbahn
  • Hochzeiger (Jerzens)
  • Kaunertal Glacier / Kaunertal lifts
  • Pitztal Glacier + Rifflsee
• Magic Pass: The pass covers nearly 100 resorts across Switzerland, with some in France and Italy €555. Great if you are Geneva-based!
  • Grimentz / Zinal
  • Saas-Fee
  • Villars / Gryon / Les Diablerets
  • Anzère
  • Belalp / Blatten
  • Glacier 3000 (during certain periods)
  • Leysin
  • Le Grand Bornand (France)
  • Praz de Lys – Sommand (France)
  • Massif des Brasses (France)
  • Monts Jura (France)
  • Métabief (France)
  • Jura sur Léman (France)
  • Thollon-les-Mémises (France)
  • Vercorin
  • Lauchernalp (Lötschental)
  • St. Luc / Chandolin

Some Season Pass Prices for other large European ski resorts are below. Vail would likely need one of the following to introduce a European Pass product for around EUR 1,000 or more (I wonder if European visitation to North American resorts has declined with the new day ticket prices?).

Resort / Ski Area	Approx Season / Full-Season Pass Price	Notes / caveats
Arlberg (Lech / Zürs / St. Anton / whole Arlberg region)	~ € 1,170 (adult) OnTheSnow+3Bergfex+3Bergfex+3	That is the “seasonal pass” for the Arlberg region. Bergfex+1
Ischgl / Silvretta / Paznaun-Samnaun	€ 1,128 (adult) for the “Paznaun/Samnaun” season pass Ischgl+1	Also there is a more limited “Ischgl / Samnaun” season pass for ~ € 1,015. Silvretta Arena Tickets
Zermatt / Matterhorn Ski Paradise	CHF 983 (adult) for the full “season pass incl. glacier + summer access” Matterhorn Paradise	The site shows that this includes access to Glacier Paradise, Gornergrat, Rothorn, etc. Matterhorn Paradise
Val d’Isère / Tignes-Val d’Isère area	~ € 1,090 (adult) for full season pass (2024/25) Ski Line ®+2SeeValdIsere.com+2	Some passes only cover Val d’Isère side, which are slightly cheaper. Ski Line ®+1

 

[ChrisC]

I do not recall if Rob Katz has said anything about them.

I think Katz made a casual reference to Vail's European expansion in his Storm Podcast when asked about it, something along the lines that the European resorts have limited appeal and don't move the needle for pass sales. Did not suggest a European-centric Epic Pass product, which I believe these acquisitions were predicated upon.