©1985 Randy Brandon
Skiers hold up the 1986 Olympic logo at the top of Mt. Alyeska.
By Chris von Imhof
Special to the Turnagain Times
After the purchase of Alyeska Resort, nothing happened for a while and we learned the decision making process in Japan was different and slower than in the USA. Seibu owned a huge empire of hotels, department stores, ski areas, golf courses and other leisure companies.
But on capital projects the resort owner Mr. Tsutsumi wanted to make all the decisions himself and that could delay some projects for as long as a year or more. Fortunately, on the other hand, he got very little involved in the actual operation of the business.
Alyeska Resort started the process with the Municipality of Anchorage to negotiate the purchase of approx. Eighty acres of land north of our existing area. However, this was a slow process and took many years. It required Alyeska Resort to prepare a new Master Plan on the future development of the Resort. I must credit Larry Daniels, who at that time was Alyeska's Director of Planning and other local residents and officials who worked hard on the details of the land purchase. In the meanwhile, we continued the normal operation of the Resort.
In 1980 Girdwood's population had grown to 577 residents. We opened the new Tanaka chairlift. In 1981 we hosted the US National Alpine Championships and that same year, I went to Japan for my annual budget and capital projects meeting. When at the meeting with the owner, Mr. Tsutsumi, I requested approximately $1 million dollars for a new snow making system. He looked at me startled and then said, “Here I bought a ski area in Alaska and now they want money for a snow making system?”
I responded, “Yes” and he smiled and signed the authorization papers with his OK.
In 1983, the State of Alaska transferred 5,200 acres of Girdwood area land to the Municipality of Anchorage and formed the Heritage Land Bank for the management and ultimate development.
In 1984, the Winter Olympics were held in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. Since I was raised in the German Winter Olympic city Garmisch-Partenkirchen, I felt that Anchorage was in a good position and location to host the Winter Olympics.
I met with our advertising agency's owner Rick Mystrom for lunch at the Corsair and explained to him that if Sarajevo can host the Olympics than Anchorage can do it and probably better. After a few more presentations to other Anchorage officials, we formed the Anchorage Olympic Organizing Committee (AOC) and started to prepare our planning for the various Olympic venues and locations. Of course Alyeska was chosen as the site for all the Alpine Race events.
Mystrom, who was chosen as Chairman of the AOC and his team presented Anchorage's bid to the US Olympic Committee and was selected as the US choice for the 1992 Winter Olympics.
In September 1986, the Anchorage delegation of the AOC went to Lausanne, Switzerland, to present our bid to the IOC, the International Olympic Committee. Unfortunately we lost our first bid to Albertville, France.
Two years later, Anchorage was again the US choice for the Winter Olympics and presented its bid to the IOC. This time we lost our bid to Lillehammer, Norway.
Even though we lost our chance at that time to host the Winter Olympics, the pride and joy of the entire Anchorage community was wonderful and I must commend Rick Mystrom, Rick Nerland and others for a good job and excellent presentation of Anchorage as a great winter destination.
Anchorage can still do it in the future, however, it is getting more and more expensive especially with the added homeland security requirements.
In 1987 after Alyeska's Master Plan was approved, and Alyeska purchased 80 acres of land from the Municipality of Anchorage for $ 1.5 Million Dollars.
In 1988 the new high speed Chairlift “the Spirit of Alyeska” was installed.
In 1989 the new Day Lodge opened at the base of Alyeska. The same year Alyeska hosted the World Junior Championships.
Meanwhile, Seibu and Prince Hotels was also building hotels and golf courses in Hawaii. In 1985 Mr. Tsutsumi asked me to transfer to Maui, Hawaii to assist with the completion and operation of the new 310 room First Class Maui Prince Hotel, at Makena Resort. I must admit it was a wonderful opportunity for me to be involved as General Manager in the completion and operation of one of the finest resort hotels on the Hawaiian islands, where our company already operated the Makena golf course and owned over 1,000 acres of choice beachfront property.
