Nederland doesn’t have the money.
The tiny town in Boulder County says it needs $20 million of donations to complete its purchase of Eldora Mountain Resort, the ski area just outside of town.
In a letter posted to the town website on Wednesday evening, Mayor Nichole Sterling and the mountain town’s board of trustees said that philanthropy is necessary to assuage the concerns of prospective bondholders. Nederland originally hoped the sale of bonds would entirely finance the town’s $120 million buy of the ski area.
“When we initially went to market, prospective bondholders told us there were a few things they would like to see,” the letter said. “The two main components were that they wanted stronger security tied to the asset and they wanted us to reduce the overall amount of leverage and debt in the transaction.”
The deal was supposed to close by the end of April, a full five months ago. Nederland said its purchase agreement with Eldora parent company Powdr Corp. has expired but that the two parties are still talking and an updated agreement could be reached.
Nederland said the deal, if it happens, is now expected to be a sale-leaseback. In an email to BusinessDen, Sterling said that Powdr would be contracted “to continue supporting operations.”
The town announced in July 2025 that it had a letter of intent to buy the ski area from Powdr, which put the mountain up for sale in mid-2024. On Jan. 6 this year, the town’s board of trustees signed off on the purchase with a $120 million price tag, which works out to about $80,000 per resident.
The purchase was supposed to be financed through municipal bonds backed by ski mountain revenue. Those bonds, capped at $225 million total at a 9% interest rate, have yet to be sold.
Nederland has repeatedly denied BusinessDen’s requests for the bond offering memorandum, which would further detail what gave prospective bondholders pause.
“When we began, we were modeling interest rates at approximately 7.5 percent,” the Wednesday letter said. “Today, we are modeling closer to 8.5 percent. Bondholders have also asked us to more aggressively model poor snow years and, importantly, to incorporate the actual results from the most recent season.”
Colorado saw dismal snowfall this past winter, leading to a steep drop in skier visits.
The $20 million philanthropic endeavor is a way to lighten the debt load on the mountain, Nederland said. The town outlined a host of upgrades that it hopes to eventually make to the mountain, including a new mountaintop lodge and the launch of summer operations.
Philanthropic dollars would go toward those projects, Nederland said, suggesting that ski runs could be named after donors.
“By separating these projects from the order of payments regulated by the bonds, we give Eldora considerably more flexibility,” the letter said.
“In a poor snow year, the mountain can prioritize its debt obligations, essential maintenance, and reserves,” Nederland said. “It would not be forced to undertake a discretionary capital project simply because a financing document says it must happen that year.”
One prospective funder is Colorado, the letter said. Nederland reached out to Gov. Jared Polis’ office in late August, the Denver Business Journal reported Wednesday.
“I met with POWDR today, after our meeting, and they need to be able to get an answer from us much sooner than we anticipated regarding the gap to fill so they don’t put the mountain back out to market,” Sterling wrote Polis’ chief of staff on Aug. 27, according to records obtained by the publication.
Nederland said that, if the deal doesn’t close, it wouldn’t be reimbursed for the $2.5 million that it has paid to various firms so far. The town said that can be covered by prior investments made by the town. If the deal closes, the costs would be reimbursed by the bonds.
Powdr did not respond to a list of questions from BusinessDen.
Jonathan Cain, the former Nederland town manager who has taken the same position in Lakewood, declined to immediately comment when reached by BusinessDen on Wednesday evening. He is considered the architect of the bond-financing deal and was intimately involved with the process before leaving the mountain town on Sept. 24.
“We are essentially setting up the blueprint for other municipalities to follow in our footsteps,” the Wednesday letter said, “but it takes someone taking the first step.”
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