Rumor: Vail to buy Stowe.

[nhskier1969]

I think you missed Win's point. He said "Eastern equivalent" not "equivalent". There's a big difference. They are simply successful, independent resorts with great terrain. For the east, SB is absolutely the same thing.

I don't see the "casual skier who does 5 runs and heads to the bar" as the typical Sugarbush passholder/skier. Don't get me wrong, I have no doubt there will be people that jump ship to Epic, I just don't think it will be the mass exodus that I'm hearing some people predict. I will admit though that I do fall in that "25+ day pass holder" category that tends to not spend much other money at the mountain (sorry Win!). I have a few drinks at Wunderbar here and there. I eat lunch on mountain once in a blue moon. Normally I head over to Sugarbush village though to grab something at Pizza Soul or Mutha Stuffers for lunch.

For the casual skier, I'd argue those are more the people that buy things like the Quad pack. Are people going to dump the Quad pack in favor of Epic? Hard to say but I don't think a lot of those people would.



Do a lot of people really pay the full 1700 price? To me the early purchase price is the only one that matters for comparisons with other resorts. $1149 is decently reasonable (or at least in line with quite a few other resorts in VT)

As I said in other posts here in on AZ that it is going to sting a little bit. There are quite a few families out there that will do a few trips up north and then a trip out west each season. I would have to think this is Vail's core Demographic for the east. If they can steal day tickets away from other mountains and secure the dollars for Vail. Then its a big win for Vail. Instead of those families taking a weekend at Sugarbush then another at Stratton, those families would put there all there dollars into the Vail product.
As far as season pass holders, SB will loose some of those to Stowe based on price point along. I do not see SB season passes staying the same or increasing for the 17/18 season. Also all resorts and mostly Vermont will loose day ticket sales.
Don't get me wrong I think Sugarbush is the best mtn in the east, but it always comes down to price for most consumers. You could have the best product in the world but if you are twice as much as your competitor, consumers won't care.