Plans for Homewood to move to a membership-based model in the next 3 years was unveiled by Art Chapman, chairman of JMA Ventures which operates the ski area, in early November at the First Tuesday Breakfast Club.
Chapman said that the newly rebranded Homewood Mountain & Lake Club will sell legacy memberships, as well as local resident memberships with access to skiing and riding to provide a sustainable revenue model for the ski area. There will be no changes for the 2022-23 season, with Chapman noting a more solidified plan would be released next year.
With a 40 percent decline in daily skier visits in the last 10 years, increasing traffic issues and competition from larger ski areas, Chapman said that Homewood’s current operations as a commuter-based ski resort is failing.
“It’s virtually impossible for small, commuter-oriented ski areas to compete against the monolithic, very large ski areas,” he said.
Chapman also noted that Homewood needs costly investments for its aging infrastructure that can’t be funded through its current model. Namely, the replacement of the 50-year Madden Chair estimated at $12 million, replacement of the Ellis Chair in the near future, and upgrades to on-mountain dining that would cost around $15 million.
The membership model would be a legacy membership, passing to generations of families. It would include owners of the planned 175 to 180 on-mountain homes (seven are under construction now), as well as nonresidents. In addition, a local resident membership would be offered during some nonholiday, midweeks times for West Shore residents, he said.
Community Ski Days would also be offered during the season to benefit local nonprofits.
Development | Along with building on-mountain homes (scaled back from the approved 223 residents), there will be a 15- to 20-room hotel. There will also be a general store and ice cream parlor, both of which will be open to the public.
Homewood High & Dry would continue to be open to the public, he said, and the public would continue to have access to hiking trails in the summer.
Terrain parks | Homewood has expanded its terrain park offers to 5 parks this season from the beginner Happy Park to the Madden Ridge, Lakeview, Kolby’s and Foundation Bowl parks.
Kids & active military ski free | Ages 4 & younger ski free throughout the season and active-duty military can ski or ride for free during non-peak days. | skihomewood.com
