Marble Mountain is back up for sale with launch of new RFP, minister says

The Newfoundland and Labrador government has issued a new request for proposals, seeking a buyer for the Marble Mountain Ski Resort.

Speaking with CBC News on Thursday, Tourism, Arts, Culture and Recreation Minister Steve Crocker said the province hopes to bring the ski hill into the future with an investor in the private sector.

A similar RFP was shared in June 2018, but was cancelled in July 2021 when only three submissions were received.

An expression of interest for the purchase or long-term lease of the resort was also issued this past August, which Crocker said garnered two interested parties.

"We sort of scoped what an RFP would look like from their expression of interest," he said Thursday. "Those parties now do have the opportunity to come back in the RFP process, along with others."

Marble Mountain, currently owned by the province, is the largest ski resort in Atlantic Canada and averages around 65,000 skiers annually, according to a news release.

But with a changing climate, Crocker said the resort's future needs to be a year-round enterprise.

"With climate change and challenges around ... how our seasons have changed and how our winter has certainly changed … we feel that in order for Marble Mountain to be successful going forward, it would have to evolve into more than just a ski hill," he said.

The sale of Marble Mountain was recommended by both the premier's economic recovery team and the 2022 review of provincial assets performed by multinational bank and financial services company Rothschild and Co.  

Crocker said the province has given the Steady Brook, N.L., resort around $1.2 million per year since 2016.

He said the province remains committed to placing the resort in the hands of the private sector.

"Government is not the proper operator of a ski hill," he said.

"There are people out there that keenly see the value of Marble Mountain.... We're optimistic that we can [find] somebody interested in purchasing Marble Mountain."

Steady Brook Mayor Bill Dawson told CBC News he's eager to see where the RFP goes, calling the hill a key economic driver for western Newfoundland.

"We want to see a vision of partnerships with proponents at the hill, at Marble, that will bring long-term employment, you know? Big vision, big jobs, lots of opportunity," he said.

"You want to bear fruit ... let's shake the tree and see what comes out of it."

The province's RFP is scheduled to close on April 9.

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