Airline subsidy is a great investment.
Steamboat Springs was the first ski community to develop a subsidized airline program to allow easier access to our guests in the winter season. This program was really what put Steamboat on the map as a destination ski resort and has been tremendously successful as well as wonderfully managed. The problem is that with the merger of the airlines, along with several other factors, the cost of these subsidies or revenue guarantees are ever increasing.
Originally the cost of this program came primarily from the Ski Corporation with assistance from the Chamber and its members. The burden of a yearly drive for these monies and the fact that the contracts for the airlines needed to be accomplished almost immediately following the ski season, this way of raising funds was too unstable. In 2004 the community passed a 2% lodging tax that provided us with a nice cushion and surplus. However the past two years have proven to be more expensive and the reserves have been deeply cut into. This past winter saw a 27% reduction in airline seats and the economic affect was visible. Without doing anything those reserves will dry up in another two years.
This fall we have a sales tax initiative on our ballot. The sales tax would be an increase of twenty five cents (one quarter) for every one hundred dollars purchased. This initiative also has a sunset of five years. The hope being that with the increase the 27% reduction in seats could be reversed and as more seats are available meaning more people flying in meaning increased sales tax and increased lodging tax. Hopefully in five years we will have a nice reserve that will allow us to retire the sales tax. I would argue that even if that doesn’t occur the increase in sales tax is a worthwhile investment into our community.
The only argument that I have heard against the tax increase is that we are subsidizing a major corporation (Ski Corp) and that they should foot the entire bill. But is the ski area truly the only benefactors of this tax increase? How about the lodges and restaurants and the grocery stores and the ski shops and the clothing stores and the Real Estate market? All benefit from an increase in winter traffic and those that benefit should help pay. Statistics show that the airline subsidy program pays about $30.00 per passenger that flies in to the Yampa Valley Regional Airport. That passenger will spend an average of $1,100.00 during their stay in Steamboat. Hmmmm, let’s see, for a $30.00 investment we receive a $1,100.00 return. I would call that a pretty good return on investment. I wish I could get the same on my stocks and bonds.
This is an issue that will greatly benefit all that live in the community and not just those who have a direct tie to the winter ski season. The City could see an increase in tax revenue with more people flying in allowing them to maintain the beautiful parks and trail system that we all enjoy. Businesses in this community are hit hard with requests for donations for worthwhile projects and non profits and a healthy business community means more support for these projects.
We have also improved the airport to the tune of around thirty million dollars over the past decade and now have a comfortable functional facility that can easily handle the increased flight loads. It is why Buyer’s Resource and its Agents have contributed time and money to support this initiative. We hope you agree and support 2B on this falls ballot.
Archive for the ‘The Steamboat Lifestyle’ Category
Tuesday, October 25th, 2011
Steamboat Welcomes the USA Pro Cycling Challenge
Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011The inaugural USA Pro Cycling Challenge kicks off today with the prologue time trial in Colorado Springs. Steamboat Springs will host two of the seven stages of the professional road cycling race that is anticipated to bring over 1 million spectators to Colorado, making it the largest spectator event in Colorado history. With all three of the podium finishers from this year’s Tour de France confirmed to race, it should make for a very thrilling race to watch. The Pro Cycling Challenge will be the toughest professional road race ever held on American soil, reaching altitudes of over 12,000 ft. Below is a brief overview of the race.
1. Prologue Time Trial: This 5.18 mile individual time trial will begin in the Garden of the Gods Park in Colorado Springs. It will establish the order of placing for the riders going into Stage 1 of the race.
2. Stage 1: Salida to Crested Butte. This 102 mile course will cover Monarch Pass, the first climb of the race and will finish on the moderate climb to Mount Crested Butte.
3. Stage 2: Gunnison to Aspen: This is the “Queen Stage” of the race, covering 2 passes over 12,000 ft. in elevation. This stage will be TOUGH. Look for the overall contenders to make their move on this most difficult mouintain stage.
4. Stage 3: Vail Time Trial. Gaining 1,783 ft. in just 10 miles, this uphill time trial will definitely be exciting to watch.
5. Stage 4: Avon to Steamboat. After two difficult stages, riders will find no relief on the rolling terrain of this stage. Could be a good day for breakaway riders. You won’t want to miss the sprint finish in downtown Steamboat Springs!
6. Stage 5: Steamboat to Breckenridge. The highlight of this stage will be the double summits of Rabbit Ears Pass. Camping spots along the road are sure to be scarce as spectators prepare to get a good view of the climbing.
7. Stage 6: Golden to Denver. The champion of the first ever US Pro Cycling Challenge will be determined after this stage. Beginning with a large climb and descent into Denver, the stage will finish after 6 laps of a five mile circuit through downtown.
Who to watch for: There are many factors that will play into who to watch for in this race. Of course the top three from the Tour de France, Cadel Evans, Andy Schleck, and Frank Schleck have all proven their strength and should have a great chance at the overall win. Andy Schleck spent some time training in Steamboat before the race and will be sure to be motivated to finish out the season with a win after his 2nd place in the Tour. Americans Levi Leipheimer , Christian Vande Velde and Coloradan Tom Danielson will have the home turf advantage which is very important in this altitude. No matter who takes top honors in the race, the state of Colorado will be the real winner for having the opportunity to host this spectacular event.
The international exposure this race will bring to Colorado is immensely important for the state. Steamboat Springs has been given the honor of hosting not just one, but two stages of the 7 day event. The media coverage of our small town in Northwest Colorado is sure to boost interest to the area. For a community that relies so heavily on tourism, the attention this will bring to Steamboat is priceless.
Be sure to tune in to NBC or Versus to watch the race every day. If you’re lucky enough to be in Steamboat to watch the race live this Friday and Saturday, please drop by and see us at our office downtown. I’d love to talk cycling with you and share info on Steamboat Springs and the local real estate market.
Steamboat Social Media
Tuesday, July 12th, 2011By Ulrich,
Social Media. That’s about all we hear about anymore is Social Media. You know, Twitter and Facebook and Linkedin etc, etc, etc. I know these are great tools to stay in touch with friends and business colleagues on a daily, or even minute to minute, basis and it is fun reconnecting with old friends that we haven’t heard from in decades. We are also constantly being told that we have to participate to maintain relevant in our business although I personally find it annoying when I log onto Facebook and am bombarded with businesses flaunting their wares. I know that I should “unfriend” if it annoys me but I just can’t bring myself to “unfriend” anyone. Would they not like me anymore? Might they actually “unfriend” me in retaliation?
Anyway, back on topic. Let me tell you how Steamboat Springs conducts its Social Media. It’s called the Post Office or City market or even Ace hardware store. We are a community of Social people and genuinely like our fellow Yampa Valleyites. I love the fact that it may take me 45 minutes to buy a gallon of milk at City Market due to all the people that you need to say Hi to and catch up with. Haymaker Golf course or a “Strings in the Mountains” concert are also great venues to renew old friendships. Does it ever bother me? Only slightly when I am trying to enjoy one of our fabulous free concerts at Howelson Hill or at the base of the Ski area and I get so busy saying Hi to everyone that I miss the great music.
I had the privilege of showing Real Estate to a great couple who are contemplating retiring in Steamboat. After the first day of previewing properties we decided to meet for some cocktails. I had suggested the Sweetwater Grill as they have a fun outdoor setting overlooking the Yampa River. Once we sat at our table it didn’t take long to notice that we knew many other couples and groups and the socializing began. I’m pretty sure that my clients believe that I had planted these people ahead of time.
So why don’t you come on up to Steamboat and enjoy the summertime and get in some great Social Mediaizing! Oh, and don’t forget to stop by our Real Estate Information Center on 56 9th street adjacent to the “Off the Beaten Path” book store.
Steamboat Springs February Events
Thursday, February 3rd, 2011Steamboat Springs February Events
Locals often say: “I’m here because of the Steamboat Springs lifestyle.”
It’s hard to describe all the wonderful parts of living in Steamboat. In addition to golden fall seasons, warm summers and sunny winter days, this mountain town keeps entertained with numerous fun events. Take a look at the upcoming February events:
98th WINTER CARNIVAL: February 2nd – February 6th.
This annual event is a must see! Detailed information at: http://www.sswsc.org/events.html .
Our office will be open daily during the Winter Carnival events. Stop by to see us at 56 9th street off Lincoln, next door to Off The Beaten Path bookstore. We are open Monday – Saturday from 8:30am to 7:00 pm, Sunday from 10 am to 4 pm.
WATCH THE FIREWORKS WITH US: Saturday, February 5th, Buyer’s Resource Real Estate Office (6:30 pm-8:00 pm): During the Night Extravaganza we will be open late. Come by to enjoy some hot apple cider and hot chocolate while watching the fireworks.
ANNUAL WOMEN’S SKI CAMP: February 8th – February 10th. Location: Steamboat Ski Area; for information call: (970) 871 5375
Participants must be intermediate and above skiers, levels 5-8. Camps run from 8:00am-3:00pm daily.
STEAMBOAT SYMPHONY’S WINTER SOIREE: February 12th from 6pm to 10 pm; Location – Steamboat Grand Hotel.
Deserts and dancing offered by the Steamboat Symphony Orchestra at the Steamboat Grand. Enjoy live music, dance demonstrations, and a silent auction during this event. Tickets are $50 per person, available at the SSO Offices at the Depot. For more information call (970) 870 3223
SPRINT VALENTINE’S DAY TORCHLIGHT PARADES & FIREWORKS DISPLAY: February 14th from 7:00pm to 7:45 pm; Location Gondola Square
A spectacular on-snow torch parade down the mountain. In conjunction with the torchlight parades, a fireworks display will illuminate the sky providing a perfect ending to the evening. This event is free and open to the public; the best viewing is in Gondola Square. The parade begins at 7:00pm
THE NORTH MISSISSIPPI ALL STARS, PART OF THE BUD LIGHT ROCKS THE ‘BOAT FREE CONCERT SERIES: Free, all ages concert. Date: February 26th. Location – Gondola Square. Time: 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm.
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For information about Steamboat Springs from events to latest market trends, visit Buyer’s Resource Real Estate Information Center at 56 9th street off Lincoln, downtown Steamboat Springs, next to the Off The Beaten Path book store.
Buyer’s Resource Real Estate; phone – (970) 870 8885; fax – (970) 870 8886.
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By: Gery Smith,
Exclusive Buyer’s Agent
gery.realestate@gmail.com
Ben Cartwright, Where Are You?
Saturday, August 7th, 2010Recently I went on a Ranch Tour which featured seven properties for sale around Steamboat Springs, CO.
There was a bank-owned property within 15 miles of the ski area and minutes from the airport. The Mountain Plains Farm Credit guy who is holding the note said they are super willing to be flexible with financing a new owner. The 108-acres, 4,700 s.f. home, and huge barn has an asking price of $1,495,000. It seems like a good deal, though the house is a bit funky inside, and I’m guessing they’d take less.
We saw acreage, some with great water rights (which is a commodity in the west – 20th century Gold, it’s called) and great fishing as you can imagine. One had multiple lots, great views and paved access near town. And another overlooked Steamboat Lake in the heart of snowmobiling mecca.
But my personal favorite felt like something out of a Gunsmoke western dream. I wanted a horse with reins I could lash to the fence post. To hear cowboys throwing hay bales in the hay loft or mucking out the 2,376 square foot barn, and to watch Elk in the pastures alongside the 1/2 mile of the Little Elk River. 
My husband would be chopping wood, my son strolling out of the caretaker’s cabin with a future young son of his own on his shoulders. With its conservation easement this place will be unchanged for generations to come. Log home, windows and rock, solid. All that’s missing is Ben and Hoss Cartwright.
Asking price: $2,000,000.00.
Location: 180 acres, ten miles north of Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
Ability to win your heart and imagination: Gigantic.
Happy Independence Day!!
Friday, July 2nd, 2010What could be better than the celebration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th 1776? Is there anything that would be more appropriate than to celebrate our founding fathers incredible foresight and the dedication and courage it must have taken to stand up to the super power of England.
As we enjoy the parades and various festivities, parties with hot dogs and ice cream, practicing our vowels, Ohhhh, Ahhhh, while watching the evening’s fireworks, let’s not forget to reflect what it took to build this Country into what it is today. America has always been a land of pioneers and entrepreneurs. We have never been afraid to try or to fail. We continuously push the envelope and, to paraphrase John F. Kennedy, ask what we can do for our Country.
This Pioneer spirit is no more evident than here in Steamboat Springs. Imagine transplanting your family to an unknown location somewhere high in the Rocky Mountains. What must it have been like in 1875 for the Crawford family when they first decided to homestead in the Yampa Valley? Would the Indians be friendly? What dangers would the Bears, Mountain Lions, wolves pose? What happens if disease or injury sets in? What it must have felt like to know that the nearest outpost with provisions was a week away and totally inaccessible for the better part of the year. Could the Crawford’s ever had imagined that their single room cabin would have morphed into the beautiful resort community that we all enjoy today?
This is just one small example of the fortitude it took to grow the United States into the world leader it is today. During our 234 years of Independence we have faced a multitude of challenges and tragedies, economic downturns, wars, famines, whatever Mothers Nature and Earth can throw at us and, yes, even oil spills. Yet we show a remarkable resiliency and the ability to rebound from these challenges. As a Country and a people we are truly the best when the times are the worst.
So on with the celebration! Happy 4th of July everyone!
The 2010 Ski Jumping and Nordic combined Junior Olympics come to Steamboat this week; Watch future Olympians Ski and Fly
Monday, March 1st, 2010If you were watching the Olympics this year you probably caught some of the buzz about Steamboat Springs’s Johnny Spillane winning two individual Silver Medals, Billy Demong who lived and trained in Steamboat winning a Gold Medal, and the Olympic 4-man team made up of Johnny, Billy, Todd Lodwick (of Steamboat) and Brett Camerota (trained in Steamboat) winning a Silver Medal. US Nordic combiners winning even one medal broke an Olympic draught.
Residents of Steamboat could be found at Olympian Hall, watching the events on a big screen. Residents and visitors alike congregated near Gondola Square, in front of One Steamboat Place to watch on the big screen there. And others, like Ulrich and Doug in our office, watched on their computers at their work desk. Me, I was home with my husband John, each of us with a computer in our lap in case either of us lost the Live Feed.
During the last individual event, when Billy won Gold and Johnny the Silver, our son Cliff, who is a Nordic combined athlete himself and trains with these guys was sitting in front of the computer at the library of his High School. He was making up school work he’d missed during his recent three week trip to Europe where he competed in the World Junior Championships in Germany and a Continental Cup in Austria. As the Olympic event got underway, Cliff called and we gave him the website for the Live Feed. Ten minutes before the end of the race Cliff’s computer lost the Live Feed and he called us up again. There, holding the phone between me and John, we screamed out blow-by-blow, how Johnny and Billy were in the lead, how the Austrian with them was successfully holding on, and then getting ahead, and then falling back, and Billy sprints ahead and Johnny follows and the Austrian is dropped and Billy and Johnny cross the finish line in first and second. OMG OMG OMG! Cliff says “okay,” hangs up and gets back to his school work.
After all, that was last week, and this week is the 2010 Ski Jumping and Nordic combined Junior Olympics, which this year happens to be held here in Steamboat. For Cliff to compete and defend his two previous Ski Jumping and Nordic combined championships, school and ski club policy says he has to be caught up with his schoolwork. As of this writing I still don’t know if he academically qualifies or not.
But with or without Cliff, the Junior Olympics of course will go on. There won’t be a computer feed, but it will be LIVE in downtown Steamboat Springs at Howelsen Hill. Thirteen athletes (or 12) from the Rocky Mountain Division, 10 from the Intermountain Division which trains in Park City, 10 from Eastern Division, 31 from the Central Division and possibly some from Alaska and Canada, will attend Opening Ceremonies Tuesday Night before their three days of competition.
Billy, Johnny, Todd and Brett may all be retiring between now and the next Olympic Games. Come see for yourself first-hand then, the future Olympians who will now be following in their extraordinary wake. Catch the buzz. And if you see Cliff Field competing, shake his hand and congratulate him on getting his schoolwork done!
The Roar of Steamboat’s Olympic Blood
Saturday, February 6th, 2010By Susana
If there is any question as to why you would want to move to Steamboat Springs, Colorado…If there is any question as to why you would want to stay living in Steamboat once you moved here…our Olympic Send-off Friday night would have given you a big resounding answer. It is because of who you are and who we are together.
Sure Steamboat is known for its Champagne Powder and bluebird skies. A year-round outdoor recreational mecca, and world class ski resort, nicknamed Ski Town USA for producing more winter Olympians than any other town – 86 and counting. But what does this have to do with a home?
You will move here because Steamboat is NOT all resort town and is NOT at all a fake town. Steamboat is a real town that happens to conveniently have a world-class ski resort attached.
We are, first and foremost, an amazing community. We are a community that raises Olympians, because we too are all Olympians in breadth of heart and depth of soul.
We close off Main Street, re-routing US Highway 40 for Winter Carnival, the 4th of July and the Halloween evening stroll, because community is important, family is important and kids are important.
We play hard, we work hard, we celebrate together and we mourn together. We are the best and the brightest coming from all walks of life to this cherished hamlet in the Rocky Mountains to make it our homes.
We bring our children here so they can grow up in the best public schools; so they can have Howelsen Hill, our small city-owned downtown ski hill, as an extension of their backyard and the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club as an extension of their family, with Olympians as both their role models and their coaches.
Thousands turned out alongside the Courthouse lawn for our Olympic Send-off Friday night, when we once again rerouted traffic. When Rick DeVos, the director of the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club, asked how many in the crowd were visitors, we heard a loud cheer. When he asked how many in the crowd were locals, the roar we gave was deafening.
These, after all, are our children we were sending off to the Olympics; our neighbors, our friend’s kids, our older children’s prior classmates, our younger children’s known-on a-first-name-basis heroes.
Their glory during the games will be our glory, and their agony, should there be any, will also be our agony. As such, when the games begin we will all be feeling the roar of the Olympic blood within our own veins, because we are community, we are teammates, we are family and we are Steamboat!
Why move to Steamboat, and why stay in Steamboat once you move here? Because you too feel the Olympic Spirit within your own blood, and it is here you and your family will feel most at home.
I may not have a medal to hand you, per se, but I would be honored to help hand you your keys.
Opening Day Nears!
Monday, November 23rd, 2009This morning we woke up to four inches of new snow with the weatherman calling for an additional two before the day is done. This may be the last natural snow before the ski area’s grand opening on Thanksgiving Day. But what has been tradition is that the day before Thanksgiving the ski area will be open for “Scholarship Day”, where anyone can ski but buy a lift ticket, with all proceeds going to local youth scholarships.
If you’re looking for an inexpensive Steamboat Springs condominium on the slopes, consider this one bedroom and one bath Storm Meadows condo. Consisting of 591 square feet, it comes furnished and is listed for sale at only $254,900. In a highly sought after location, the property will provide steady rental income for the new owner.
Almost directly across from Storm Meadows and on the other end of the price spectrum is a five bedroom, four and a half bath Edgemont condominium that is scheduled to be completed this ski season. At 3,900 square feet, this slopeside condo is listed at $4,956,000. This owner will enjoy spectacular views of the entire Yampa Valley and a spacious open floorplan ideal for entertaining. Edgemont owners will have a host of indoor and outdoor amenities that will bring families together both inside and outside of the home. Two finish schemes available to choose from, and two optional, professionally designed furniture packages available for purchase.
Give us a call today for more information on either of these two slopeside condominiums, or to find you something in-between.
