Boyne brings new energy to Maine's slopes
Column by Heather Burke Dec. 2, 2007
- “We want to be first. We were hell-bent on opening first in New
England and we did everything we could to be the leader with the first
skiing in the East at Sunday River,” said Stephen Kircher, President of
Boyne USA, the new managing company of Maine’s two major ski resorts.
Mission accomplished - Sunday River opened first Oct. 31, Sugarloaf took
the #2 spot on Nov. 9.
I recently spoke with Stephen Kircher about Boyne’s future plans for
Sunday River and Sugarloaf.
“Next year, with our proprietary fan guns in place, we will continue to
compete at being first. We don’t like to lose,” Kircher said. “American
Skiing Company had this theory that you don’t ever embarrass your
brother, we think its fair to compete. Like playing ball outside with
your brother, you can beat them, and still have dinner together. I think
people will see that we are very competitive because we want to be the
best. We won’t be concerned about how our earnings will be published.
We’re concerned about our service, and the experience we are delivering
to our skiers. Of course, we need to make money as a business and those
profits will be reinvested.”
“ASC was so heavily eastern-based, coupled with too much debt from
overpaying for resorts in the 90’s and expensive short term capital
costs. The expectations were just too high, and then they had a few
lousy eastern winters,” said Kircher.
Kircher explained that Boyne USA is a privately held family company, and
CNL Income Properties of Florida is the financial backer, “We have
available this type of patient capital which will really help us to make
these resorts (Sugarloaf and Sunday River) the best they can be.” Boyne
USA now runs 10 ski areas across the country, including recently
acquired Loon Mountain in NH.
“We had previously passed on Eastern resorts, at the time we didn’t want
to walk into a bear’s den. Now we have three resorts (Sugarloaf, Sunday
River and Loon) to solidify our marketplace,” said Kircher. “These
resorts have very different physical attributes and their own unique
culture. I don’t want people to fear that Sugarloaf is going to become
Sunday River. It is part of our strategy to have a beachhead, and to be
diversified. Since my father started this company in 1952, we have grown
the seasonality of our resorts and expanded our geographical footprint
out of Michigan. Now we’re balanced well from East to West Coast.”
Kircher’s father, the founder of Boyne USA, Everett Kircher was inducted
into the US Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame this year, posthumously – he
died in 2002. Everett developed the first double and triple chairlifts,
advanced snowmaking, and grew the most successful family-owned ski
resort company in the United States in the leagues of corporations
Intrawest and Vail Resorts.
“I think the neatest part about my Dad’s nomination is that he and Jake
Burton were honored together. They represent such different parts of the
industry but he’d be proud because they were both rebels and both
visionaries, not the type to follow the herd. In fact, my Dad embraced
snowboarding before other resorts did, many in the industry were banning
it.” Kircher said that Boyne’s success comes from that leadership model.
“The New England ski scene has always been very competitive; everyone
knows that about Killington (for example). We plan to be a leader in New
England.”
Days after the Maine ski resorts were sold, and ASC sold out entirely,
Kircher quickly connected to Mainers by posting on local ski message
boards. When bloggers responded and asked about his baseball allegiance,
he admitted he was “no Yankees fan.”
“I am not the new face of Sunday River, but we are family-owned, not
some faceless giant, we live and breathe this. So to the extent I can be
a face as the leader, I am okay with that, but I am no Les Otten, he was
Sunday River,” said Kircher.
“I plan to spend time in Maine this winter, but that is for the purpose
of planning for the future of these resorts. We’re not command central;
I feel we have three very good general managers and good teams on the
ground and they have been re-energized.”
Kircher said Boyne, with the capital investor of CNL, has already spent
significant amounts on snowmaking at each resort, a top priority and a
key to Boyne’s success at their midwest ski areas. “The efficiency of
Eastern snowmaking is out of whack with what technology allows. We have
a 6:1 efficiency and we are going to bring that to our eastern resorts
to extend the seasons and provide better conditions for our customers,”
said Kircher.
As for improvements to each Maine ski area, Kircher said, “At Sugarloaf,
our priorities are snowmaking, lifts and cleaning up the look and
experience throughout the resort. You can’t have lifts with paint
peeling and holes in chair pads. The removal of the old gondola building
is an example of making Sugarloaf a pristine mountain. There will be a
new lift next season; we are determining the best location. We need to
improve the flow of the entire mountain. We want to make this a
destination people are proud to come to from far away.”
“We’re definitely in this for the long haul. In ten years, there will be
significant transformation at these resorts. I see Sugarloaf being
regarded as the best ski resort in New England unequivocally, with vast
improvement to lifts, snowmaking, expansions on Burnt, and a cleaned up
resort. The loyalty factor at Sugarloaf is intense, every skier on that
mountain is avid and we’re not looking to change that culture. We’re not
Stratton, we’re not about wearing Prada ski suits.”
“Sugarloaf is mostly about skiing and winter. I don’t think it could
support another golf course, where Sunday River could, even two and an
indoor/outdoor waterpark,” Kircher said.
“At Sunday River, we are envisioning lifts and snowmaking continuing to
be at the top of their game. The 7-miles across Sunday River is
perceived as a negative, but I think it could become a positive as
separate enclaves could be created. With 10,000-acres of mostly empty
canvas, I see Sunday River becoming a much more diverse four-season
resort supporting high-end housing. We’re not going boutique-y, that’s
not Maine, but there will be affluence - like the people that go to
Montana instead of Aspen. Sunday River will become the status symbol of
New England skiing, but not in a flashy way.”
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All Stories by Heather Burke
All Photography by Greg Burke
