Nederland’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously this week to move forward with a $120 million purchase of Eldora Mountain Resort, a bold move that would make the roughly 1,500-person town one of the few municipal owners of a ski area in Colorado.
The deal in plain terms
Trustees approved an asset purchase agreement and a transition services agreement that lay out how Nederland would acquire Eldora from POWDR, the Utah-based company that has owned the resort since 2016 and publicly shopped it in 2024. Under the plan, Nederland would issue revenue bonds to pay POWDR, and the bond repayment would be tied to Eldora’s operating revenues — lift tickets, rentals, food and beverage — rather than to local property or sales taxes.
Town Manager Jon Cain told trustees the purchase could move forward "without using any property taxes, sales taxes or our general funds," and that the resort will sit inside an enterprise fund required to be self-supporting. POWDR has also agreed to provide two years of advisory services to smooth the handoff while the town ramps up operations.
Former Eldora general manager Brent Tregaskis — who retired last year — has encouraged buyers by noting Eldora’s profitability, and POWDR has cited prior sales and transitions (including resorts sold in recent years) as experience it will lean on during this change of ownership.
Why Nederland says this matters
Mayor Billy Giblin framed the purchase as more than a business transaction: a way to keep operational decisions local and to reinvest profits into the community. Town officials have floated long-term ideas such as capital improvements, potential new amenities and, eventually, directing profits toward sidewalks, roads and other town projects once the debt is retired.
Planners are taking precautions: the town’s FAQ describes a $10 million reserve fund to cushion debt payments in a low-snow year, and officials say all current Eldora employees would become town employees (details such as benefits are still being worked out).
The agreement also includes practical contingencies. Nederland will need a new special-use permit from the U.S. Forest Service for the federal lands used by the resort, and it must complete an agreement with Alterra to keep Eldora on the Ikon Pass — a critical distribution channel for skier visits and revenue.
Hurdles, skepticism and the politics of buying a mountain
Not everyone is cheering. Critics worry about the financial and environmental risks of a small town taking on a major ski-area purchase. A letter to the editor published in a regional paper warned that climate trends could make such investments risky, and raised concerns about traffic, housing pressures, wildlife corridors and a perceived lack of community input during negotiations.
Observers have noted the scale mismatch: CBS News described Nederland as a town with an annual budget of just over $3 million contemplating a $120 million acquisition — a move some residents call a ‘‘minnow swallowing a whale.’’ Town officials counter that the bonds are structured as revenue bonds and therefore would not place taxpayers on the hook if revenues fall short.
There are also operational questions: managing a ski resort brings year-round infrastructure needs, capital projects like snowmaking and lifts, and the potential for unforeseen ancillary costs — road upgrades, worker housing and utility demands among them.
What happens next
The trustees’ vote authorizes the purchase agreement but doesn’t close the deal. Nederland must issue the revenue bonds, finalize legal and regulatory approvals (including the U.S. Forest Service permit), and complete the Ikon Pass arrangement. Reporting places the next bond-approval vote in the weeks ahead, with local coverage naming possible January or February meetings for trustees to approve the ordinance that would let the town issue bonds.
If the sale closes, POWDR will continue to operate during an initial transition while Nederland establishes its mountain-management capacity. The town hopes to preserve Eldora’s role as a Front Range gateway for outdoor recreation while emphasizing local access and community priorities.
There’s something distinctly unusual about this chapter: a micro-municipality taking on an asset usually owned by corporations or larger public entities. Colorado already has government-owned ski areas — Ski Cooper, Howelsen Hill and Winter Park involve public ownership in different forms — but Nederland’s move would be rare.
Whether the town’s gamble becomes a model for community ownership or a cautionary tale depends on a lot of variables: snowfall, management choices, the terms of the bond market and whether Nederland can balance access, affordability and fiscal prudence. For now, the town is leaning into optimism — and into a complicated, expensive piece of Colorado’s outdoor economy — while opponents warn of real financial and environmental stakes.
This story is still unfolding. Nederland officials say the purchase is meant to keep Eldora operating continuously under local ownership — but turning that intention into running lift lines, plowing parking lots and fixing a chairlift at 8 a.m. will be the real test.