Attempting to turn the battleship

As the sun rises on 2010 there are a few local entities looking to be nimble, quick and interesting in the dawn of the New Year. Up in Mt. Crested Butte, a partnership appears to be forming that is changing the way the biggest employer in the valley is looking to do business. It’s never easy to turn a huge battleship but they are trying to move fast in a new direction. Good on ‘em.
 Crested Butte Mountain Resort, the town of Mt. Crested Butte, the non-profit Crested Butte Music Festival and the Mt. Crested Butte Downtown Development Authority all seem to be coming to the conclusion that there is more than one way to skin a cat. And in these economic times, you better be looking for two or three different ways to collect that hide.
In an effort to proceed without haste, the resort will soon contribute a chunk of prime real estate for a new Performing Arts Center in Mt. Crested Butte. Instead of trying to squeeze something onto the “Rasta Lot,” this group is pulling together to put up something nice, closer to the current mountain base area and with a future in mind. The decision by the town and DDA to shift focus from an aquatic center to a performing arts center is positive in the long run. The aquatic center will come if the tourists keep coming. A performance complex can help in that regard.
At the same time, CBMR executives are looking to significantly downsize their current plans for hundreds of residential units in the as-of-yet undeveloped north parking lot. They seem to have concluded that there are enough beds going empty at the moment. While numbers were okay during the busy holiday weeks, the resort’s hotel occupancies were under 50 percent. That’s not a good trend.
So… there exists an understanding that tourists might come not just for the sports this place provides in abundance… but for the arts. It can be a driver in the tourism sector. Putting up a high-end performing arts center that seats 400 or 500 people also has a good chance of attracting more folks thinking about the lifestyle element of the valley.
CBMR appears to be making a conscious shift in their game plan. Other entities are supporting that shift. They aren’t standing still. It is good to see pro-active decisions. The resort also seems to be making another shift toward fewer beds and more businesses on the mountain. That sort of acknowledges a move away from what’s always been an unspoken understanding; that the mountain town supplied the majority of beds for tourists who rode the bus to the downtown Crested Butte stores and restaurants. There’s apparently a new reality in the future. Downtown Crested Butte will always be a charming attraction but the mountain isn’t sitting idle.
The resort, the town of Mt. Crested Butte and the Music Fest have collaboratively decided to move ahead. They want it sooner rather than later. It isn’t easy to turn a big battleship but they apparently aren’t afraid to try. That in itself is interesting in these tough financial times, and deserves some applause.