Colorado town to issue up to $225 million of bonds for ski resort

Bloomberg News

Nederland, Colorado, will issue up to $225 million of revenue bonds to purchase and improve a ski resort, under an ordinance approved by the town board of trustees on Tuesday.

The Mountain Recreation Enterprise bonds backed solely by revenue generated by the Eldora Mountain Resort will be sold through RBC Capital Markets and BofA Securities, according to the ordinance, which caps the net effective interest rate at 9%.

The ordinance also allows for the tax-exempt debt, which will only be sold to qualified institutional investors, to be privately placed.

Earlier this month, the town board approved an asset purchase agreement to buy the resort for $120 million, contingent on the bond sale.

The town of nearly 1,500 in the mountains southwest of Boulder previously created a Mountain Recreation Enterprise Fund where revenue from lift tickets, food, rentals and other purchases will be deposited and used as the sole payment source for the bonds. 

With 680 skiable acres, Eldora is one of Colorado's smaller ski areas, but at 21 miles from Boulder it is one of the easiest to reach from a major population center.

Eldora's general manager announced in August 2024 that owner POWDR was selling the resort along with other properties in the U.S. and Canada. Under the deal with Nederland, the company will continue to support the facility for two years and Eldora's approximately 700 workers will become town employees.

The town last sold debt in 2003 with a nearly $1.5 million general obligation bond issue that carried a final maturity in 2022 and a Aaa rating from Moody's Ratings based on insurance, according to information posted on the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's EMMA website.