More money from Goldbelt may be Eaglecrest’s best hope of getting gondola open by 2028 tourism season
- Mark Sabbatini
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
Ski area leaders consider $275 spring season pass, other measures to aid short-term struggles as they confront greatly inflated cost to install lift seen as key to summer operations
By Mark Sabbatini
Juneau Independent
Getting Goldbelt Inc. to cover the unexpectedly high cost of a gondola at Eaglecrest Ski Area is probably the only way to keep the project on schedule for its hoped-for May 2028 opening, an Eaglecrest board member said during a meeting Thursday night.
Options discussed during the board meeting followed the announcement to Juneau Assembly members on Monday that the installation may cost $27 million and the total cost — including the purchase and refurbishment of the gondola — could reach $37 million. The original total cost estimate was less than $9 million when the Assembly purchased the 20-year-old lift four years ago.
"I think it's worth noting that Goldbelt is probably the only possibility that we have that might allow us to stay on schedule," said Jim Calvin, a board member who has been among the ski area officials most involved in the planning for the gondola.
Goldbelt in 2023 provided the city $10 million to allow completion of the gondola in exchange for 10% to 25% of its gross revenue for at least 25 years, with a minimum payout of $20 million. Several city and Eaglecrest officials said at this week’s meetings that asking the Juneau-based Native corporation for the rest of the needed funding in exchange for additional revenue sharing is a foremost option that should be pursued.
Goldbelt’s President CEO McHugh Pierre did not respond to questions Friday from the Juneau Independent about whether the company — which is projecting about $550 million in gross revenue this year — is open to such an agreement. Goldbelt is investing heavily in tourism on Douglas Island with a two-berth private cruise dock it hopes to open to hundreds of thousands of passengers in 2028, as well as other projects including industrial and visitor activities at the proposed Cascade Point Ferry Terminal on land the company owns.
Among the other options to complete the gondola suggested by Eaglecrest officials are asking other private investors or obtaining a loan from an entity such as the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority. Also discussed was expanding into year-round summer operations on a smaller scale without a gondola.
But Board President Brandon Cullum said Monday that Eaglecrest faces existential challenges without the gondola since the city-owned ski area loses money every year, Assembly members are expressing reluctance to keep providing subsidies without a sustainable operating plan, and existing facilities and infrastructure at the 50-year-old resort need many millions in repairs and upgrades.
Finding funding quickly may be key to the gondola’s future since an official installation cost estimate is scheduled to be presented to the Assembly at its April 1 meeting, with members stating a decision on whether to proceed with the project is likely soon afterward.
The City and Borough of Juneau currently faces a "sunk cost" of about $10.9 million if it abandons the gondola, including repaying Goldbelt with interest (which would total $11.9 million, but $3.7 million of the company’s original $10 million remains unspent). Furthermore, Goldbelt can cancel the deal and reclaim its money with interest if the gondola isn’t completed by May 2028, unless an extension is agreed upon.
Even if the installation funding is resolved, Eaglecrest continues to face other issues with the gondola’s completion.
The passenger cars, for instance, were sent to Colorado for refurbishment, but that work is on hold because the cars were shipped on their side rather than upright, said Craig Dahl, a CBJ special projects manager.
"The gondola shop basically refused to accept them until there had been two different inspections done on the cars to make sure there was no damage to them being done since no one transports gondola cars on their side," he said. Inspections now underway so far show no damage.
Another complication is a large shipment of gondola parts from Europe is still pending, and facing significant extra costs from tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump as well as possible fuel surcharges due to soaring oil prices caused by the U.S. war with Iran launched on Saturday, according to Dahl.
Also, while the company installing the gondola is expected to provide a "guaranteed maximum" bid — with the $27 million cited Monday as a preliminary estimate of that figure — Dahl said "there are a lot of things that can still fall outside of that guaranteed maximum price."
Despite all that, Dahl said it still makes sense for Eaglecrest’s long-term financial future to proceed with the gondola — and several people offering public testimony during Thursday’s meeting praised him and other ski area officials for their candor in presenting the difficult realities of the controversial project.
"Even with the big number, for the right investor this still provides a return on investment," he said. "We're still within the realm of a doable project. It just may not be doable by CBJ."
An illustration of a best-case scenario is contained in a financial analysis of Eaglecrest by former General Manager Kirk Duncan that was commissioned by the city and published in December of 2024. That analysis is based on an "aggressive" model that includes $85 gondola tickets and annual ridership increasing to 125,000 by 2034 (other models examine $45 and $65 ticket prices). The report states Eaglecrest could have a surplus of more than $42 million 15 years after the gondola opens — and that includes spending $19 million to repair other facilities at the ski area.
But a report presented to the Assembly on Monday has a more guarded — if less specific — preliminary forecast based on updated cost expectations. That report projects a $1.5 million surplus for Eaglecrest during fiscal 2038, compared to about a $5.8 million gain in Duncan’s report from 15 months ago.
$275 spring pass and staffing shortages this year, $2.7M budget shortfall next year
Eaglecrest leaders are also coping with day-to-day and near-future issues during a 50th anniversary season that got off to a rough start due to poor snow conditions, a water main break and an inoperative mountaintop lift. But Erin Lupro, the ski area’s acting general manager following the sudden resignation of Craig Cimmons earlier this year, said at Thursday’s meeting good snow conditions in recent weeks are helping warm the situation up.
"Last week was our busiest weekend of the season," she said. "It was very clear, there was lots of cars in the parking lot, lots of snow. Everybody was enjoying it and having a great time. Shockingly enough, Wednesday was just as equally busy."
With season pass and ticket sales suffering this year, the board on Thursday unanimously approved having staff move forward with plans to offer a $275 spring season pass. The normal price is $90 for single-day adult lift tickets ($75 for Alaska residents) and $330 for a five-visit pass. The resort’s current schedule calls for Eaglecrest to remain open until April 12 — but factors beyond weather will be a challenge during the next five weeks.
"Staffing challenges continue to be the biggest hurdle, as we are slowly losing seasonal staff as we move further into the spring portion of the season," a manager’s report submitted to the board for Thursday’s meeting notes. "To help support operations through the remainder of the season, positions have been posted for both laborers and lift operators."
Eaglecrest is also finalizing its budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. It currently projects about $5.8 million in expenses and a deficit of nearly $2.7 million — and that’s if the Assembly approves $880,000 in general fund support as it did for the current year.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.
