As we’ve reported Park City Mountain Resort COO Bill Rock will be taking on a new role within Vail Resorts. Returning to run Park City Mountain Resort is a familiar face.
Rock’s brand-new job will be based at company headquarters in Broomfield, Colorado, where he will serve in a regional leadership role. Rock explains that job will have him overseeing the company’s five resorts in Colorado and Utah. He says even though he’ll be based in corporate headquarters he still plans to spend around 90 days on the mountain split between the four Colorado ski areas and Park City.
“My role is a lot more strategic than day to day,” Rock continued. “Which will be fun to be a little more forward looking. Helping those teams perform at the highest levels, deliver for our guests. Looking to see how we can invest in those areas to make sure they are continuing to grow and provide the experience of a lifetime for our guests. That's kind of what my role will be and helping direct the whole company. I'm also on the executive committee, which I have been now for over a year. That group runs the whole company and so that would be a big part of my role as well.”
Rock has served as COO of Park City Mountain Resort since 2015. Rock came to the resort the year Park City Mountain and The Canyons Resort were merged.
“I think making one resort was an opportunity of a lifetime for us, for me, for our whole team,” Rock explained. “I think when people embraced that idea, it really lit a fire for everyone in terms of what we could actually accomplish. We've just been so successful, and I think our team takes a lot of pride in that. For me that's the thing that I'll just remember from my time here in Park City, more than anything professionally, was that project.”
The summer of the merger, the company made $50 million of improvements to bring the two resorts under one umbrella.
“That summer we did the Quicksilver gondola link, we did two lifts, we did Miners Camp Restaurant, we renovated Red Pine and Summit House and we did over 16 miles of snow making pipe just in that one summer,” Rock said. “Since then we've added lifts, we did the High Meadow project, we've done Mid Mountain Lodge renovation, other snowmaking and then this summer we've got the over and out lift and Tombstone Grill which is a brand-new restaurant at the bottom of Tombstone. I don't know for sure, but I think we'd be hard pressed to find a ski area in that time span that's had that level of improvement in the country, or maybe anywhere. Just quite a fun five years.”
Taking over for Rock is Mike Goar. Goar served as general manager of Canyons Resort from 2007 to 2015. Goar comes back to Park City after spending time operating Vail resorts in Colorado and California.
“Mike as you know has a deep history in skiing,” Rock continued. “Over 40 years of experience and a deep history in Utah. It’s kind of funny people who were kind of like well we're sorry to see you go, and then I tell him Mike's coming. They're like Oh great! Awesome we have Mike. So, people are happy to have Mike come back and so am I. He's just a talented leader and the team is not going to skip a beat.”
Rock says the official transition will take place on September 9th, Rock says he and his family will move to Bloomfield probably near the end of the month.
