The new Alpine Coaster at Duluth’s Spirit Mountain resort has brought in way more revenue than expected in its first months and will help smooth out the bumpy budget picture for the city-owned resort.
The coaster, with a 3,400-foot run, opened in July and was projected to bring in $271,000 in its first 10 months. Instead, the city has seen $619,000 in revenue in the first four months, says the Business North news site.
Spirit Mountain has long been a ski and snowboarding destination but is very dependent upon the weather, officials said. Several recent years have been financial flops because of the weather. But the coaster is bringing in customers year-round, said Renee Mattson, executive director of Spirit Mountain. It’s expected to be popular even in winter with the skiers.
“They’ll already be dressed for the cold. So all they’ll have to do is ski over from the top of the lift of one of our most popular runs and hop on the coaster.”
