Springfield Ski Club Approves Proposed Sale of Ski Blandford
The proposed sale will now head to final negotiations.
Wednesday, July 19, 2017, NewEnglandSkiIndustry.com
The sale of Blandford ski area appears to be moving forward, as Springfield Ski Club's members approved a motion to allow the negotiation with the owners of Ski Butternut, according to WWLP. If a final agreement is not reached, the ski area will close.
The proposed sale would transfer the assets of the ski area, ending the Springfield Ski Club's three quarters of a century ownership. The motion reportedly required two thirds approval from the ski club's membership.
Located west of Ski Blandford, Ski Butternut was opened by the Murdock family in 1963. Ski Butternut has a history of coming to the assistance of other regional ski areas, dating back to when Channing Murdock purchased the defunct Satan's Ridge ski area and reopened it as Ski Sundown. In 2011, Jeff Murdock's Stoney Management became involved with nearby Otis Ridge.
The Springfield Ski Club has been existence for some 80 years, making it the longest continuously operating ski club in the country. The Ski Blandford facility features three double chairlifts, a surface lift, snowmaking, night skiing, and 465 foot vertical drop.
The chairlifts range from 39 to 48 years old and were installed at a time in which the club had roughly 5,000 members. Membership fell to 1,426 in 2014-15. A board e-mail this spring declared this year's early season pass sales are "well below" normal and that "Blandford Ski Area is financially insolvent."
