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Company type | Private |
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Founded | 1947 (as Boyne Ski Lodge) |
Headquarters | Boyne Falls, Michigan |
Key people | Stephen Kircher, President and CEO |
Number of employees | 10,500+ full time and seasonal (2023) |
Website | www |
Boyne Resorts is an owner and operator of ski and golf resorts in North America. The company employs over 10,000 full-time and seasonal staff. It operates 12 resort properties: 10 ski resorts, a lakeside golf resort, an adventure park in the Smokies, and 12 golf courses among them. The company, based in Boyne Falls, Michigan, owns and operates properties in the U.S. states of Michigan, Montana, Washington, Maine, New Hampshire, Tennessee, and Utah, and the Canadian province of British Columbia.[ citation needed ]
Boyne Resorts was founded by Everett Kircher, Jim Christianson and John Norton in 1947. [1] They purchased a steep hill in Northern Michigan for $1 from former State Senator Pierson. [2] Then the co-founders bought a single chairlift from Sun Valley in Idaho and installed it at their Northern Michigan resort as its first lift. This chairlift was the first ever built and is still in service today, it has been upgraded several times. [3] In 1954, Boyne built and opened Gatlinburg SkyLift in Tennessee, a scenic chairlift that operated as a year-round tourist attraction. [4] In 1963, Boyne Highlands in Northern Michigan was added and by 1967, Boyne Mountain expanded to include additional lifts and a golf course. Robert Trent Jones designed the first resort course in the region at Boyne Highlands in 1966.[ citation needed ]
After Boyne passed opportunities to acquire Telluride Ski Resort in Colorado and Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in Wyoming,[ citation needed ] they closed a deal to purchase Chet Huntley's Big Sky Resort in 1976, only a few years after its opening in December 1973, and now is the second-largest ski resort in the United States by acreage. [5] In 1986, Boyne purchased Brighton outside of Salt Lake City, Utah. In the 1990s, Boyne purchased golf courses in Michigan and Florida. 1997 brought along the company's fifth ski resort, Crystal Mountain, Washington.[ citation needed ]
In 2001, Boyne added its first Canadian resort, Cypress Mountain outside Vancouver, British Columbia. Cypress Mountain was the host to all the Freestyle and Snowboard events for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. In 2002, the company's founder and visionary, Everett Kircher died; his children maintained Boyne as a privately held company (Kircher had transferred ownership of the company to his children in 1976). Son, John Kircher oversaw the Brighton, Cypress Mountain, and Crystal Mountain operations. Son, Stephen Kircher was overseeing the Midwest operations as well as operations at Big Sky Resort. Daughter, Amy Kircher Wright served as the Chairperson of the board. [6] In 2007, Boyne Resorts entered into a sale and leaseback arrangement with CNL Income Properties on the Gatlinburg SkiLift, Brighton and Cypress Mountain. The leases run for at least 40 years to Boyne for operations and all have buy back provisions. Later in 2007, Boyne purchased Sunday River and Sugarloaf in Maine from The American Skiing Company and entered into a sale and leaseback arrangement with CNL Income Properties with similar 40-year leases.
On September 19, 2007, Boyne announced their purchase of CNL Income Properties leases for The Summit at Snoqualmie, Washington, and Loon Mountain, New Hampshire, from Booth Creek Resorts. [7] This purchase made Boyne the largest family owned ski resort operator in North America in terms of number of resorts, and second in number of skier visits at almost 3.6 million visitors. [8] [ citation needed ]
Boyne Resorts also holds or held numerous patents on snowmaking technologies and has unveiled its latest technology in the Boyne Low E Fan Gun throughout its eastern resorts.
In 2016, CNL Income Properties sold all six of the ski resorts they leased to Boyne to Och-Ziff Capital Management. On March 31, 2017, John Kircher, son of co-founder, acquired Crystal Mountain by trading it with his shares in the company. [9] In March 2018, Boyne Resorts purchased Sunday River, Sugarloaf, The Summit at Snoqualmie, Loon Mountain, Brighton, Cypress Mountain Ski Area, and Gatlinburg SkyLift from Och-Ziff Capital Management after years of leasing the properties. [10] [11]
Name | Location | Number of lifts | Date opened | Date acquired | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Boyne Mountain | Boyne Falls, Michigan | 10 | 1947 | 1948 | |
The Highlands | Harbor Springs, Michigan | 8 | December 26, 1963 | 1963 | |
Big Sky Resort | Madison County, Montana | 36 | December 1973 | March 4, 1974 | |
Brighton | Brighton, Utah | 6 | 1936 | 1986 | |
Cypress Mountain | Cypress Provincial Park, British Columbia | 9 | 1970 | 2001 | |
The Summit at Snoqualmie | Snoqualmie Pass, Washington | 19 | 1967 | October 5, 2007 | Acquired from Booth Creek Ski Holdings in 2007. [12] |
Loon Mountain | Lincoln, New Hampshire | 13 | December 1966 | ||
Pleasant Mountain | Bridgton, Maine | 5 | January 23, 1938 | October 21, 2021 | |
Sugarloaf | Carrabassett Valley, Maine | 12 | 1953 | August 8, 2007 | Acquired from ASC in 2007. |
Sunday River | Newry, Maine | 19 | December 19, 1959 |
Name | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|
Inn at Bay Harbor | Petoskey, Michigan | Autograph Collection by Marriott property |
Avalanche Bay Indoor Waterpark | Michigan | |
Gatlinburg SkyPark | Tennessee | Damaged by fire in 2016, opened Gatlinburg SkyBridge in 2019 |
Boyne Resorts owns Boyne Country Sports, a sporting goods store chain with seven locations across Michigan. [13]
Cypress Provincial Park is a provincial park on the North Shore of Metro Vancouver Regional District, British Columbia. The park has two sections: a 21 km2 (8.1 sq mi) southern section which is accessible by road from West Vancouver, and a 9 km2 (3.5 sq mi) northern section which is only accessible by hiking trails. The two sections are linked by a narrow strip of park along the mountainous Howe Sound Crest Trail.
Cypress Mountain is a ski area in West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, located in the southern section of Cypress Provincial Park, operated under a BC Parks Park Use Permit.
Boyne Mountain Resort is a ski resort with a collection of accommodations in Northern Michigan located near Boyne City operated by Boyne Resorts. The center piece is an upscale resort called The Mountain Grand Lodge and Spa.
Sugarloaf is a ski area and resort located on Sugarloaf Mountain in Carrabassett Valley, western Maine. It is the second largest ski resort east of the Mississippi in terms of skiable area and snowmaking percentage (95%); its continuous vertical drop of 2,820 feet (860 m) is the second longest in New England. Sugarloaf recorded a total of 352,000 skier visits in the 2005–2006 season, ranking it second among Maine resorts and 11th in New England.
Alpental, named after the German word for alpine valley, is both a valley in eastern King County, Washington, United States, and part of a ski area in the valley. The valley is about 50 miles (80 km) east of Seattle, Washington and is north of Snoqualmie Pass, in the Washington Cascades. It is a popular outdoor recreation destination in summer and winter. The ski area is one of four areas that make up The Summit at Snoqualmie.
Mountain High resort is a winter resort in the San Gabriel Mountains in Los Angeles County in California. Mountain High is one of the most-visited resorts in Southern California. The resort is located along State Route 2 west of Wrightwood, California. The elevation of the resort is 6,600 feet (2,000 m) to 8,200 feet (2,500 m) for the Mountain High East Resort, 7,000 feet (2,100 m) to 8,000 feet (2,400 m) for the West Resort and 7,200 feet (2,200 m) to 7,800 ft (2,400 m) for the North Resort.
Brighton Ski Resort is a ski area in the western United States, located in Big Cottonwood Canyon in Brighton, Utah. About thirty miles (50 km) from downtown Salt Lake City, it is owned and operated by Boyne Resorts.
Moonlight Basin is a private club in southwestern Montana, located in the Madison Range of the Rocky Mountains in the resort village of Big Sky. It became part of Big Sky Resort in October 2013 when it, along with ski terrain within the Club at Spanish Peaks, were bought and merged into Big Sky Resort, making it one of the largest single ski resorts in the United States, with 5,750 acres (2,330 ha) of terrain and over 30 ski lifts. Moonlight Basin features a variety of skiable area and a number of amenities, including two lodges and a golf course.
Park City Mountain Resort (PCMR) is a ski resort in the western United States in Park City, Utah, located 32 miles (51 km) east of Salt Lake City. Park City, as the ski resort and area is known, contains several training courses for the U.S. Ski Team, including slalom and giant slalom runs. During the 2002 Winter Olympics, it hosted the snowboarding events and the men's and women's alpine giant slalom events.
Crystal Mountain is a mountain and alpine ski area in eastern Pierce County, Washington, United States, located in the Cascade Range southeast of Seattle. It is the largest ski resort in the state of Washington and lies within the Mount Baker–Snoqualmie National Forest. The resort is accessible from the Seattle–Tacoma metropolitan area via State Route 410.
The Summit at Snoqualmie is a recreation area in the northwest United States, located on Snoqualmie Pass, Washington. It provides alpine skiing and snowboarding, Nordic skiing, mountain biking, winter tubing, and scenic lift rides. Owned and managed by Boyne Resorts, it is 52 miles (80 km) east of downtown Seattle on Interstate 90.
Northstar California is a mountain resort in the western United States, located in Placer County, California, near the northwest shore of Lake Tahoe.
Ski Lift International (SLI) was an aerial lift manufacturer based out of Incline Village, Nevada. SLI was established in 1965 by co-founders Samuel G. Bonasso and Joseph Sugarman, with Bonasso as its first president. The company built 46 lifts, mainly double chairlifts, from 1965 until 1973. SLI had a prototype gondola and triple chair, but it is unlikely that these designs were ever used. SLI chairlifts can still be seen at ski areas such as Catamount Ski Area. The company was known for inventing the first maintenance-free bail chair, well before competitors such as Riblet or Hall. SLI shipped pre-welded towers and terminal parts to the ski areas, avoiding welding on site. SLI was purchased by Riblet Tramway Company in 1973. Since then more and more of these lifts have been removed due to mechanical failures or the need for higher capacity. These lifts are currently very rare and are still rapidly disappearing from the earth.
Crested Butte Mountain Resort is a ski resort at Mount Crested Butte in Gunnison County, Colorado, United States.
Loon Mountain Ski Resort is a ski resort in Lincoln, Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. It is located on Loon Mountain and sits within the White Mountain National Forest. Its vertical drop of 2,190 feet (670 m) is the eighth largest in New England.
Pleasant Mountain is a ski resort located in Bridgton, Maine, in Cumberland County.
Sunday River is a ski resort located in Newry, Maine, in the United States. It is one of Maine's largest and most visited ski resorts. Its vertical drop of 2,340 feet (710 m) is the second largest in Maine and the sixth largest in New England. Sunday River has the most terrain among the East Coast skiing destinations, including eight different peaks. The resort features 135 trails across eight interconnected mountain peaks, and is serviced by a network of 18 lifts.
The Highlands at Harbor Springs is a ski resort in Northern Michigan located near Harbor Springs, Michigan owned and operated by Boyne Resorts. It was known as Boyne Highlands until December 2021 when the resort announced the name change.
CNL Financial Group (CNL), formerly Commercial Net Lease, is an Orlando, Florida based private investment management and commercial real estate company. It was started in 1973 by James Seneff. The company has been a major player in efforts to redevelop Orlando's downtown. The original CNA tower was downtown Orlando's first modern skyscraper when it was completed in 1971. A new CNL Tower was constructed on the east side of Orange Avenue.