Deer Valley owner Alterra Mountain Company and Extell Development Company, the Mayflower developer, have negotiated a long-term operations agreement that folds the terrain into Deer Valley, with the first lifts and trails expected to open as early as the 2025-2026 ski season. The Mayflower land will boost Deer Valley’s terrain by 3,700 acres, bringing the total acreage at the resort to 5,726. The resort currently offers 2,026 acres.

The number of runs at Deer Valley will increase from 103 today to 238. The number of lifts will jump from 21 to 37. Deer Valley’s snowboarding prohibition will expand to the new terrain.

The Mayflower base area will be located off U.S. 40 and is envisioned as another Deer Valley village, including skier services, retailers and dining. More than 1,200 parking spots are planned. Extell Development Company is continuing work at the location.

“This is your new Deer Valley,” Todd Bennett, the president and chief operating officer of Deer Valley, said during a well-attended event in Silver Lake Village outlining the agreement.

The room was packed with representatives from the various parties involved in the agreement and community leaders, including Mayor Nann Worel. There appeared to be jubilation as speakers described what they see as the benefits of the expansion of Deer Valley into the Mayflower terrain.
Todd Bennett, the president and chief operating officer of Deer Valley Resort, describes the agreement between the resort and Mayflower developer Extell Development Company during an event on Thursday. The agreement involves a major expansion of Deer Valley terrain.
 
Jay Hamburger/Park Record

The Mayflower acreage, located in Wasatch County, for decades has been seen as prime terrain for skiing, but there was little progress until recent years. There did not appear to be urgency while the land was under previous ownership and later, once there was mounting interest in resort development on the ground, the discussions were complex. The development itself benefitted with the involvement of the Military Installation Development Authority, a state economic development entity that is designed to advance projects with a military component. There will be a hotel developed in Mayflower for the benefit of members of the military.

The land as recently as early in the summer was designed to be a standalone resort adjacent to Deer Valley, known as Mayflower Mountain Resort, with Extell Development Company and the Military Installation Development Authority partnering on the project. But there also had been indications Deer Valley would play some sort of role in Mayflower. Deer Valley in June said it was in negotiations with Extell Development Company about the operations of Mayflower, but it was not clear until Thursday’s announcement how broad the agreement would be.

Gary Barnett, the chairman of Extell Development Company and the firm’s founder, appeared at the event on Thursday, saying the negotiations that led to the agreement were particularly difficult even as he praised the outcome. He noted a hope that traffic into Park City will be reduced as a result of the agreement.

Jared Smith, who is the president and CEO of Deer Valley owner Alterra Mountain Company, said the resort will continue to limit the number of skiers on a daily basis in an effort to maintain the quality of the skiing experience. He did not, however, provide details about the number of additional skiers that will be allowed each day as a result of the new terrain at Mayflower.

It has been more than a decade, since the 2007-2008 ski season, until the most recent consequential increase in terrain at Deer Valley. The 2007-2008 expansion involved 200 acres in the Lady Morgan section of the resort. Other notable expansions at Deer Valley since the 1990s include the Empire Canyon and Deer Crest terrain.