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Latest on Saddleback Sale and Reopening
Somebody should make a reality tv show about this. They'd quickly be flush with dough to reopen the mtn. Sad!
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It just figured that they were trying to go EB-5 on this.
This is going nowhere. Not in the dark on this. This is going to be very, very painful for a lot of people. I've had the misfortune of dealing with many, many second and third generation CEO's who are absolute jokes. Most like to spend money, act the part, and can't think their way out of a paper bag.
Simon Manseur fits the profile. The new "CEO" of Saddleback is the "CEO" of the Majella Technology group, and wrks for Simon, the big CEO. Close friends who are pretty big players in the tech business in Portland, ME say that the Tech Group business basically does nothing. One of these guys owns property at Saddleback {and luckily at Sugarloaf} and has smelled a rat all along. He would love to sell, but it's going nowhere at about half of what he paid, understandably.
The press conference when they announced a deal was "nails on a blackboard" painful. Simon saying that his vision was to make Saddleback into the "Premier Ski Resort in North America. " The new SB CEO, who is the former fire chief for the city of Portland, saying that he was excited "to be leading this PROJECT." The family that has lost $45Mil saying that they were glad to be turning it over to such a great steward, and handing over some old sentimental ski. Simon saying that his parents had loved Maine when they first visited. Blah-blah.
They have mowed some trails, painted some lifts, and announced that a team has been put together. All the former SB gang who were not so great at this.
The deal was supposed to have closed in Mid August. Smart money in Maine is that they do not have the money to close. Guess dad needs to perform more surgery in Brisbane. The word is that the owners have been ready to close for months. Evidently they terms of the deal allow the buyers a bit more time to close.
Meanwhile some people actually think they could open this winter. I have hear that the lifts have not spun even a foot in years. Flat spots on the cable, and on the sheaves. My rumor is that every single lifts needs a great deal of time consuming work.
Floating EB-5 is no surprise to me, but it's a new revelation. First I have actually seen any mention. I can almost guarantee that will get slammed shut fast with respect to this. One of the reasons Maine politicians, and others were excited {without having done much homework} was because of what looks like an illusion now. This guy had piles and piles of cash to fuel the Western Maine economy. Perhaps another fool to lose $50Mil or more. Those who want to believe think there is something there. This would not be like that "slimy foreign scumbag at Jay Peak," as one member of congress put it to me.
They have ZERO experience in this business, and I think close to zero in any resort experience. NONE in the USA, let alone in Maine, for sure.
My bet is that this ultilmately goes nowhere. In the best case, it's not a long term solution.
If these idiots were actually dumb enough to think of EB-5, then they sold lose the deposit, and more.
It's very sad. Will be a case study for a great natural mountain and ski area located in the wrong place. It has been a struggle for them since it was first opened. None of the BS talk about four seasons, about drawing from Montreal, being in the pristine town of Rangeley, and on and on is new. My dad was pitched to buy the controlling interest in the mid sixties, for next to nothing, and pretty much ran.
I feel badly for it's many fans. It is a great place to ski. I feel horribly for the people who bought condos or homes up at the mountain. And the two banks that hold most of those mortgages are going to get just hammered, IMO. They are not big banks.
Of course, a lot of people who have all toes, fingers, arms and legs crossed that this works out tell me that I'm nuts. Too harsh, too much of a cynic. We'll see.
I know one big ski area investor who made an offer to take it off the owners hands. Assume any debt, pay the taxes. Nothing more. Close to taking it over for nothing. Obviously it did not happen. This guy is no fool. His opinion is that, as a ski area, needing a lot of investment, with such a tiny customer base {never close to 100K skiers}, it was worth zip.
There was the non profit that was gaining a bit of traction. IMO, moved too slow, and were too slow or too reluctant to pitch to the right parties to back it. I don't know if that could be dusted off.
So the new buyer is still going to make it the premier ski resort in North America?
Painful. Just painful.
Simon Manseur fits the profile. The new "CEO" of Saddleback is the "CEO" of the Majella Technology group, and wrks for Simon, the big CEO. Close friends who are pretty big players in the tech business in Portland, ME say that the Tech Group business basically does nothing. One of these guys owns property at Saddleback {and luckily at Sugarloaf} and has smelled a rat all along. He would love to sell, but it's going nowhere at about half of what he paid, understandably.
The press conference when they announced a deal was "nails on a blackboard" painful. Simon saying that his vision was to make Saddleback into the "Premier Ski Resort in North America. " The new SB CEO, who is the former fire chief for the city of Portland, saying that he was excited "to be leading this PROJECT." The family that has lost $45Mil saying that they were glad to be turning it over to such a great steward, and handing over some old sentimental ski. Simon saying that his parents had loved Maine when they first visited. Blah-blah.
They have mowed some trails, painted some lifts, and announced that a team has been put together. All the former SB gang who were not so great at this.
The deal was supposed to have closed in Mid August. Smart money in Maine is that they do not have the money to close. Guess dad needs to perform more surgery in Brisbane. The word is that the owners have been ready to close for months. Evidently they terms of the deal allow the buyers a bit more time to close.
Meanwhile some people actually think they could open this winter. I have hear that the lifts have not spun even a foot in years. Flat spots on the cable, and on the sheaves. My rumor is that every single lifts needs a great deal of time consuming work.
Floating EB-5 is no surprise to me, but it's a new revelation. First I have actually seen any mention. I can almost guarantee that will get slammed shut fast with respect to this. One of the reasons Maine politicians, and others were excited {without having done much homework} was because of what looks like an illusion now. This guy had piles and piles of cash to fuel the Western Maine economy. Perhaps another fool to lose $50Mil or more. Those who want to believe think there is something there. This would not be like that "slimy foreign scumbag at Jay Peak," as one member of congress put it to me.
They have ZERO experience in this business, and I think close to zero in any resort experience. NONE in the USA, let alone in Maine, for sure.
My bet is that this ultilmately goes nowhere. In the best case, it's not a long term solution.
If these idiots were actually dumb enough to think of EB-5, then they sold lose the deposit, and more.
It's very sad. Will be a case study for a great natural mountain and ski area located in the wrong place. It has been a struggle for them since it was first opened. None of the BS talk about four seasons, about drawing from Montreal, being in the pristine town of Rangeley, and on and on is new. My dad was pitched to buy the controlling interest in the mid sixties, for next to nothing, and pretty much ran.
I feel badly for it's many fans. It is a great place to ski. I feel horribly for the people who bought condos or homes up at the mountain. And the two banks that hold most of those mortgages are going to get just hammered, IMO. They are not big banks.
Of course, a lot of people who have all toes, fingers, arms and legs crossed that this works out tell me that I'm nuts. Too harsh, too much of a cynic. We'll see.
I know one big ski area investor who made an offer to take it off the owners hands. Assume any debt, pay the taxes. Nothing more. Close to taking it over for nothing. Obviously it did not happen. This guy is no fool. His opinion is that, as a ski area, needing a lot of investment, with such a tiny customer base {never close to 100K skiers}, it was worth zip.
There was the non profit that was gaining a bit of traction. IMO, moved too slow, and were too slow or too reluctant to pitch to the right parties to back it. I don't know if that could be dusted off.
So the new buyer is still going to make it the premier ski resort in North America?
Painful. Just painful.
We held the New England Gathering at Saddleback one year. We happened to luck into a big storm so we had outrageously good conditions for two days.
Place has amazing potential. I'm glad I was able to experience it before they closed.
I saw the rumors that they would open this winter which I thought was an ambitious schedule. Looks like they would need a miracle to open now. How many people are even going to remember Saddleback exists soon? Sad situation.
Place has amazing potential. I'm glad I was able to experience it before they closed.
I saw the rumors that they would open this winter which I thought was an ambitious schedule. Looks like they would need a miracle to open now. How many people are even going to remember Saddleback exists soon? Sad situation.
Not good: http://newenglandskiindustry.com/viewstory.php?storyid=610
With one month of fall already in the books, concerns about Saddleback's prospective sale and reopening are growing.
On June 28, 2017, Bill and Irene Berry announced they had reached an agreement to sell the shuttered Saddleback Mountain Resort to the Majella Group of Australia. Majella in turn announced the transaction was expected to be completed in the summer of 2017 and that it planned to install two new lifts.
On September 17, Majella announced they were starting "physical work" at Saddleback with the first step being "taking down the existing Rangeley lift." However, despite reportedly having an agreement that allows Majella to remove the lift, as of mid October, the lift remains standing. Trails have been mowed and some lifts have received maintenance in recent months.
The Majella Group
The Majella Group has had no previous involvement in the ski industry. Majella's founder is Professor Frank Monsour, the son of Lebanese immigrants who became an accomplished Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon in Australia. The CEO of Majella Group is Monsour's son, Sebastian Monsour. In 2012, the Sydney Morning Herald claimed Sebastian Monsour "gained unauthorised access to City Hall, lied about a football career and now has come to the attention of the FBI in the United States."
Majella Global Technologies was registered as a Maine business entity on May 31, 2011. In December 2011, Majella's Frank Monsour formed 32 Thomas Street, LLC as a Maine business entity, which then acquired the Williston-West Church in Portland for Majella's United States office.
Since the acquisition, the City of Portland has twice placed tax liens on Majella's office building for failure to pay property taxes. In addition, multiple mortgages have subsequently been taken out on the property, including a $1.4 million mortgage with Camden National Bank around the time Majella reportedly placed a deposit on Saddleback.
Back in its homeland, Majella has announced numerous large real estate developments since its formation as an Australian business entity on June 8, 2011. However, only one project has apparently been completed, in April 2014, and that construction is not taking place on any other proposed projects. According to a source, there may be mounting holding costs associated with the incomplete developments.
There have been no posts on Saddleback's Facebook page since September and Majella's Saddleback web site still claims "transaction is expected to finalize later this summer."
And today on Facebook:
Good-evening Saddlebackers, Majella Group’s acquisition of Saddleback is progressing. Whilst details around the acquisition are a matter of a confidentiality agreement, I can confirm we are within the original parameters of the agreement.
Please do not take our silence as a lack of progress, rather a focus on the task at hand. Over the last few weeks our dedicated crew have brought snowmaking equipment online and are continuing with the process of inspecting, testing, adjusti...ng and certifying the lifts. Our mountain operations team have been cutting, mowing and grooming trails that have grown in over the last two years.
Reopening is a top priority and we are doing everything we can to open in some capacity for the upcoming ski season. The extent of which will be determined by the work we are able to achieve in the coming weeks. As we stated in June, we have many hurdles, but we continue to push through them. This was never going to be an easy or quick process but our tireless team are hard at work.
Best regards,
Majella Group CEO, Sebastian Monsour
With one month of fall already in the books, concerns about Saddleback's prospective sale and reopening are growing.
On June 28, 2017, Bill and Irene Berry announced they had reached an agreement to sell the shuttered Saddleback Mountain Resort to the Majella Group of Australia. Majella in turn announced the transaction was expected to be completed in the summer of 2017 and that it planned to install two new lifts.
On September 17, Majella announced they were starting "physical work" at Saddleback with the first step being "taking down the existing Rangeley lift." However, despite reportedly having an agreement that allows Majella to remove the lift, as of mid October, the lift remains standing. Trails have been mowed and some lifts have received maintenance in recent months.
The Majella Group
The Majella Group has had no previous involvement in the ski industry. Majella's founder is Professor Frank Monsour, the son of Lebanese immigrants who became an accomplished Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon in Australia. The CEO of Majella Group is Monsour's son, Sebastian Monsour. In 2012, the Sydney Morning Herald claimed Sebastian Monsour "gained unauthorised access to City Hall, lied about a football career and now has come to the attention of the FBI in the United States."
Majella Global Technologies was registered as a Maine business entity on May 31, 2011. In December 2011, Majella's Frank Monsour formed 32 Thomas Street, LLC as a Maine business entity, which then acquired the Williston-West Church in Portland for Majella's United States office.
Since the acquisition, the City of Portland has twice placed tax liens on Majella's office building for failure to pay property taxes. In addition, multiple mortgages have subsequently been taken out on the property, including a $1.4 million mortgage with Camden National Bank around the time Majella reportedly placed a deposit on Saddleback.
Back in its homeland, Majella has announced numerous large real estate developments since its formation as an Australian business entity on June 8, 2011. However, only one project has apparently been completed, in April 2014, and that construction is not taking place on any other proposed projects. According to a source, there may be mounting holding costs associated with the incomplete developments.
There have been no posts on Saddleback's Facebook page since September and Majella's Saddleback web site still claims "transaction is expected to finalize later this summer."
And today on Facebook:
Good-evening Saddlebackers, Majella Group’s acquisition of Saddleback is progressing. Whilst details around the acquisition are a matter of a confidentiality agreement, I can confirm we are within the original parameters of the agreement.
Please do not take our silence as a lack of progress, rather a focus on the task at hand. Over the last few weeks our dedicated crew have brought snowmaking equipment online and are continuing with the process of inspecting, testing, adjusti...ng and certifying the lifts. Our mountain operations team have been cutting, mowing and grooming trails that have grown in over the last two years.
Reopening is a top priority and we are doing everything we can to open in some capacity for the upcoming ski season. The extent of which will be determined by the work we are able to achieve in the coming weeks. As we stated in June, we have many hurdles, but we continue to push through them. This was never going to be an easy or quick process but our tireless team are hard at work.
Best regards,
Majella Group CEO, Sebastian Monsour
Ha, good one, ain't gonna happen.
Over 4 hours drive in prefect condition, closer than that there's Tremblant, Jay, Le Massif, Mt. St. Anne, Bromont, Orford, Sutton, Killington, Stowe, and more smaller areas than you can shake a stick at.
Of course it never has, and never will happen. For a once in a LONG while trip, maybe. Sugarloaf has never drawn from Montreal, and SB is no SL. Yet, you can't believe the dreamers who have thrown up "Montreal."
I grew up skiing in Stowe. When my wife and I bought our first home there, our four closest neighbors were all from Montreal. My wife's aunt grew up and lived in Montreal. Owned a home in St. Agathe.
Yep, betting on that is foolish.
This is tough sledding. I have said best of luck since before the Berry family lost it. Great mountain. Terrible location. If Sugarloaf didn't exist, that would be different. It existed when SB first opened. People didn't do much research then, and it was 50+ years ago.
The "optics" on this make me skeptical.
I've been watching the saga of Saddleback with great interest because it's become high on my bucket list of places to ski, and the list is rather short because I normally don't give much of a damn for bucket lists.
I have to drive stupid to ski anything over 800 feet, and normally trek further than what SB would be for me. The big Maine resorts have not yet quite caught me because the prices are always out of my league compared to K'ton, MSA, and what I just got from Jay. I'd love to...but guessing I have to be better at my planning.
I have to drive stupid to ski anything over 800 feet, and normally trek further than what SB would be for me. The big Maine resorts have not yet quite caught me because the prices are always out of my league compared to K'ton, MSA, and what I just got from Jay. I'd love to...but guessing I have to be better at my planning.
Saddleback is great skiing. Just a horrific business proposition. Not enough people, and a challenge to attract more. Like I said, nothing new there!
If you want to ski at Sugarloaf, I would come in March, or even early April. Still snow, and lots of it. Sun, etc. And normally at that time of year some ticket relief.
Lot of skiing to be had in Maine.
If you want to ski at Sugarloaf, I would come in March, or even early April. Still snow, and lots of it. Sun, etc. And normally at that time of year some ticket relief.
Lot of skiing to be had in Maine.
Appreciate the feedback.
Hoping for some happy news for Saddleback fans.
Cheers
Hoping for some happy news for Saddleback fans.
Cheers
Saddleback has been on my bucket list, too. I've done the other two S's and have been looking forward to filling in that 3rd. The travel there has always been a negative, so it has lost out to more convenient locales over the years. I guess I need to start factoring in a risk of shutting down when figuring out destinations.
Indeed.
Travel never twigs me, but I live in a part of the world where I need to drive 7 hours just to see over 1000 feet of vert
Travel never twigs me, but I live in a part of the world where I need to drive 7 hours just to see over 1000 feet of vert
I've been to Sunday River twice and Sugarloaf once driving from the PA/DE border. A long drive to Maine, but worth it and I'd do it again if I hadn't made a commitment to Killington, which is considerably closer for me. I can see the attraction for Sugarloaf, an awesome mountain, and we have friends with a home there for convenience. Sunday River is like the Super Poconos, but I still had a great time there at my level. Saddleback never crossed my mind, but maybe I'd stop in for a day if I was up that way again. Then again, maybe not....
From the local news...http://wgme.com/news/local/saddleback-attempting-to-open-this-season
WGME said:
Thread Starter
TS
Something that Muleski said struck me in this context.
[Emphasis mine.] I would surely be pilloried for committing this blasphemy in any local venue, electronic or otherwise, that included the Saddleback faithful, but I will be interested to see if the operations crew is excellent and will now be given the resources to shine, or whether they were part of the problem all along. I don't have any specific reason to believe that the old team was not good at the nuts-and-bolts work, once they were given the time and resources actually to do it. I do know that in the past there were lots of instances where that nuts-and-bolts work was not done or not done well.
For several years before they shut down, trail mowing was spotty going on non-existent. Some of my favorite runs had four-foot-tall saplings wall-to-wall, meaning that they couldn't open until well into the season.
They would fire up the t-bar for the first time DURING CHRISTMAS WEEK and discover that it was non-operational and needed new parts, causing extreme gridlock exactly when preventing that was most critical. Clearly no one had checked the lift out thoroughly back in September or whenever.
Maybe these things were botched because there was no budget for it. I hope that turns out to have been the cause.
My impression is that the former SB group are really good people. Never have, never will, suggest anything else. I know these people worked very hard. Did what they could.
But the fact is that the Berry family lost over $40Million dollars on this venture, and I have heard SB never had a single year in which the operation even ran at breakeven.
So, I'm guessing that if you need a new model, if you need some real creativity, and need to reinvent how you do things, you sometimes need new blood.
I see how people who run mountain ops at various mountains do it, having worked there for 35, 40 years......starting parking cars, then making snow, then grooming. Not so "creative." You can bet your bottom dollar that the big guys are not "hiring for life out of the local labor pool." I see a big sea change in some of the hiring for these types of jobs......outside of Maine, shall we say.
The "plus" is that these guys do know how all of the equipment works, how it breaks down, how you fix it, etc. Where the spare parts bin is. Which thermostats are finicky, etc. Some hands on at this stage may be very good.
This whole think just looks strange. The new owner to be has ZERO experience in this, and no much experience period. Dig deep and it's not impressive. The "CEO" of SB is going to be the former Fire Chief of the City of Portland. That's a bit of a different profile. He has run a subsidiary that I am told has done virtually nothing. The real knock that I have heard is that the CEO, the son, Simon, pretty much likes to "play at business." Ugh.
Until the past few years, when the Berry family likely said they were no longer going to through good money after bad, I don't believe there were any budget issues at SB.
I think the issue is that you can't try to be the same as Sugarloaf, Sunday River, or every other good sized N.E. area. Otherwise all you do is spin incircles with your 60K skier visits.
Remember the words from Simon. He wants to create the Premier Ski Resort in North America. Hmmm. Minor aspiration. I wonder if he ski?
Best of luck. Beyond skeptical. Actually writing a check and closing on the deal would be a good start for me to see. And no more EB-5 mention on their website.
There is a very good reason whey every single potential buyer in the ski business walked away despite the absolute fire sale price.
I feel very, very sad for Bill and Irene Berry. In many ways.
But the fact is that the Berry family lost over $40Million dollars on this venture, and I have heard SB never had a single year in which the operation even ran at breakeven.
So, I'm guessing that if you need a new model, if you need some real creativity, and need to reinvent how you do things, you sometimes need new blood.
I see how people who run mountain ops at various mountains do it, having worked there for 35, 40 years......starting parking cars, then making snow, then grooming. Not so "creative." You can bet your bottom dollar that the big guys are not "hiring for life out of the local labor pool." I see a big sea change in some of the hiring for these types of jobs......outside of Maine, shall we say.
The "plus" is that these guys do know how all of the equipment works, how it breaks down, how you fix it, etc. Where the spare parts bin is. Which thermostats are finicky, etc. Some hands on at this stage may be very good.
This whole think just looks strange. The new owner to be has ZERO experience in this, and no much experience period. Dig deep and it's not impressive. The "CEO" of SB is going to be the former Fire Chief of the City of Portland. That's a bit of a different profile. He has run a subsidiary that I am told has done virtually nothing. The real knock that I have heard is that the CEO, the son, Simon, pretty much likes to "play at business." Ugh.
Until the past few years, when the Berry family likely said they were no longer going to through good money after bad, I don't believe there were any budget issues at SB.
I think the issue is that you can't try to be the same as Sugarloaf, Sunday River, or every other good sized N.E. area. Otherwise all you do is spin incircles with your 60K skier visits.
Remember the words from Simon. He wants to create the Premier Ski Resort in North America. Hmmm. Minor aspiration. I wonder if he ski?
Best of luck. Beyond skeptical. Actually writing a check and closing on the deal would be a good start for me to see. And no more EB-5 mention on their website.
There is a very good reason whey every single potential buyer in the ski business walked away despite the absolute fire sale price.
I feel very, very sad for Bill and Irene Berry. In many ways.
At this point the Berry's literally need to pay $3million for somebody to take it off their hands, and even then it will be a tough go. We visited Rangeley in the summer, 2015 and hiked up SB. The whole area is just beautiful. The problem - it is 7 hours of driving time from our home in northern NJ.
Rangeley Lake from the top of Saddleback
Top of the Cupsuptic T-bar
The base lodge
Rangeley Lake from the top of Saddleback
Top of the Cupsuptic T-bar
The base lodge
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