Officials for Vail Resorts last week weighed in on growing calls for the town that shares the company’s name to take an aggressive lead in seeking public benefit during an activist shareholder proxy fight for control of the Vail Resorts’ board of directors. Led by Oasis Management and its sl ate of four potential board members — including former Disney CEO Bob Chapek and Olympic gold medalist ski racer Picabo Street — shareholders are trying to force change at the Broomfield, Colorado-based ski company, including the possible sale of certain ski areas such as Park City, as the company’s stock has languished in recent years. Over the last five years, Vail Resorts’ stock price (MTN) has plummeted from a high on Oct. 29, 2021, of $344.71 a share to $137.76 at the closing bell on Thursday. Longtime securities broker and Vail resident Merv Lapin, who served on the Vail Town Council last time the ski area changed ownership hands in the early 1990s, penned a column in the Vail Daily calling for a committee of financial experts to monitor the takeover bid and advocate for more employee housing, parking, water rights, skier-safety limits and more from the company. In a filing Wednesday with the Securities Exchange Commission, Oasis officials wrote they “believe that a more engaged and accountable board will help ensure that (Vail Resorts’) strategic and operating decisions appropriately reflect the interests of its guests, employees, local communities, and shareholders.” Asked to respond to Lapin’s column, Vail Resorts senior director of corporate and employee communications Kelsey Pietranton wrote in an email: “I would point back to the recent announcement of our Epic Experience  strategy —our multi-year plan to transform the guest experience by leveraging our scale and technology to make every part of the mountain journey more seamless, personalized, and memorable.” That strategy was announced in July soon after the Oasis proxy fight was reported by several media outlets and as Cloudflare CEO and Park City resident Matthew Prince was escalating his bid to acquire Park City Mountain Resort from Vail Resorts. “Our goal is to deliver the best and most differentiated experience in skiing and riding and earn guest loyalty that drives growth,” Pietranton added. “I would also point to (Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz’s) recent podcast episode  on ‘The Strength of the Network,’ where he discusses why our integrated network remains one of our most important competitive advantages. In the episode, he explains how the network enables us to leverage scale, invest in innovation, and deliver differentiated experiences for guests across its resorts.” Finally, Pietranton underscored what she deems a strong relationship with the Vail Town Council, especially with regard to the proposed West Lionshead project, which would include a new event venue, additional parking, housing, a hotel, a fitness facility and a new gondola up Vail Mountain. Vail Resorts is partnered with the town and East West Partners on the project. “We’re excited about the new base area development in West Lionshead, and it’s a great example of the collaborative relationship we have with the Vail Town Council and staff,” Vail Resorts Senior Director of Communications John Plack wrote in an email. “That same collaborative approach is how we deliver a fantastic winter for our community and our guests every season.” Plack said there are no new updates on the West Lionshead project, which is moving toward a pre-development agreement with the town, which will then have to be approved by the Town Council in public meetings subject to public input on the proposal. Vail Resorts also touted its partnership with the town on the West Lionshead project to visiting Park City officials in May. West Lionshead is a new iteration of what was approved as Ever Vail in 2012 but was never built for a variety of reasons. The new version is a partnership between property owner Vail Resorts, developer East West Partners and the town of Vail as part of the Booth Heights lawsuit settlement. Vail Mayor Barry Davis on Wednesday vowed to keep the best interests of the town at the forefront in any discussions related to a potential change of direction on the board of Vail Resorts, which owns and operates 42 ski areas around the world. “Our connection to Vail Resorts, it’s part of who we are,” Davis said. “We are a mountain town that serves that mountain. There’s times when that relationship’s been difficult, and times when that relationship’s been really harmonious. And often, on different issues, both things are true at the same time.” Davis said the town is open to any and all discussions regarding how best to proceed, and he adds that open dialogue is critical to maintaining that relationship. “There are some things that a lot of mountain towns wish they had a relationship as good as VR does with us,” Davis said. “And there’s also things with VR that have historically been difficult. So monitoring anything that goes on with the parent company … of course what happens with the parent company affects our town. And there is a level of disconnect from that at the town level.” But he added the town works well with the company officials who run the mountain and live and work in the area. The post Vail Resorts leaders lean in to ‘strength of network’ in response to brewing battle for board appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less