Is KSL Going To Purchase Homewood Mountain Resort?

The rumor mills are starting to churn. We have heard from three different sources in the last week alone that KSL Capital is possibly going to be the new owner of Homewood Mountain Resort. Homewood is currently owned by JMA Ventures, who is also still a minority owner of Alpine Meadows. As of this week, there’s no absolute evidence to support the rumors, just a bit of circumstantial evidence that suggest a deal may be in the works.

These are the same sorts of rumblings we were hearing just before KSL purchased Squaw Valley in 2010, and again before KSL and JMA made a deal which gave Squaw Valley Ski Holdings control of Alpine Meadows. There was a lot of debate at the time about how such a deal was bound to happen, or how it would never happen. We have since learned that KSL plays their cards pretty close to their chest.

The word on the street is that JMA has begun the process of divesting itself from some of its assets around Tahoe, preferring instead to focus on investments in other parts of California. We have heard no specifics about Homewood yet. But an interesting development came to light this week that supports the notion that some sort of deal may be in the works. It turns out that KSL Capital Partners has sold Bay Clubs, a chain of 11 fitness centers in California, to none other than JMA Ventures. The terms of the deal have not yet been announced. Several of our more astute readers have already suggested their may be a connection between the Bay Club deal and and an acquisition of Homewood Mountain Resort from JMA.

Although the combination of the three resorts would not necessarily be the biggest collection of resorts in Tahoe, it’s a combination that provides for more of a “one mountain experience”, at least when compared to Vail Resorts’ HeavStarWood combination. The combination of Squaw Valley, Alpine Meadows and Homewood makes for a resort experience where guests can stay at the Squaw Valley Village and reasonably access all three resorts via shuttles. That can’t be said for guests at any of the three Vail resorts in Tahoe.

Looking way into the future, there’s even a slim possibility that all three resorts could be connected at some point into a mega-resort that would certainly be a game changer in Tahoe. We already know that Squaw Valley Ski Holdings has been hoping to broker a deal with White Wolf owner Troy Caldwell to connect Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows. The connection between Alpine Meadows and Homewood is separated by primarily public lands, and some of that terrain is very attractive. If you’ve ever looked over at Twin Peaks from the Sherwood chair, you know what we mean. There’s also some very popular chutes in Blackwood Canyon, one ridge away from Alpine Meadows.

Is such a connection likely at any time in our lifetime? Probably not. All of that land would be under the jurisdiction of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA), which adds a thousand layers of complexity to any proposal. But would it really matter? We fully expect that SVSH would market the “one mountain” idea aggressively.

Is it a great idea for Homewood? That’s all a matter of perspective. We already saw a little preview when JMA Ventures owned both Alpine Meadows and Homewood prior to 2011. It was quite a bonus for Alpine Meadows skiers and riders. When Alpine Meadows had issues with wind, you could simply head to Homewood to take advantage of it’s lower wind sheltered slopes. it’s lack of crowds also meant that powder days could last forever. But it was a different story for Homewood regulars, who saw the lift lines at the Madden chair increase by 500% whenever Alpine’s Summit chair went on wind hold.

The truth is, we still believe that Tahoe, and the rest of the snow sports industry, needs breeder and feeder resorts like Homewood. Consolidation of resort ownership has reduced the number of resorts across the nation, while continuing to drive up the cost of skiing and riding. Currently 5 of Tahoe’s best mountains are under the ownership of two Colorado corporations, which rarely have the best interests of locals and day skiers in mind. It’s another one of those rumors that we just plain hope is 100% wrong.