Ogden's Proposed Gondola Project Attracts High-powered Peeps

According to an article in Sportsguide Magazine, Ogden Utah is setting the stage to become the next major ski hub of the world. Thanks to local developer Chris Peterson's idea to install a gondola across the city, next to Weber State University, and up to a new ski area in Malan's Basin, city officials have been working on attracting ski companies and the like to Ogden. So far, it's working. Twelve companies are expected to relocate here.

These 12 companies, who are in various stages of commitment and arrival are:

* Descente - Ski, golf and athletic apparel
* Scott USA - Products for wintersports, snowmobiling, motorsports, biking and paintball Rossignol - Skis, snowboards, boots, bindings, poles, softgoods and accessories
* Goode - Skis, poles, water skis and accessories
* M.I. Distribution Company/Nidecker - Snowboards
* Snowsports Interactive - Ski area and resort management solutions
* Salomon - Footwear, apparel, skis, boards, bindings, boots, and accessories
* Atomic - Bindings, boots, and accessories for alpine, cross-country and backcountry skiers
* Suunto - Sport watches and clocks
* Kahuna Creations - Snowboards, longboards, skatebaords, apparel and gear
* Dynamic - Skis
* Volant - Skis

Said the article's author, "The first to come was Descente, headed by Ogden native Curt Geiger. The maker of performance winter sports apparel moved into the former Eccles Steel Foundry, and others have begun to cluster in the same area. Geiger said that couldn’t have happened in a larger city such as Salt Lake; and ‘clusters’ are good for business. “Retailers can come in here and visit 12 different companies and never have to get in a car,” he explained.

The companies gather around what they hope will become a base for a gondola transportation system that would allow someone to walk out their office door, step onto a gondola and be on the slopes in 20-30 minutes. The gondola project is but a glimmer at this stage, awaiting approval by the appropriate government agencies. Several environmental groups are opposed to the plan, but the mayor and the ski companies are passionate about getting it approved.

Even after Geiger showed Descente’s board of directors in Japan that he could cut operating expenses 30 percent by heading to Weber County, the board asked why he wasn’t considering Salt Lake. Some 18 months later, they gave him the green light to move the company’s North American headquarters to Ogden upon seeing the gondola proposal.

“They could see this was a one-of-a-kind place, the only place in the world with something like that,” Geiger said. “They wanted to be part of that.” "

Jennifer Bunker, CRS, GRI
Utah Real Estate Broker