Vail Associates Owner, George Gillett was the sole catalyst who reintroduced and immortilized World Cup ski racing in the United States of America thanks to his efforts and money to win the bid to host the 1989 World Alpine Ski Championships; a big thank you to George!

With George Gillett’s passing last week, the history of World Cup Ski Racing in the United States needs to be spoken about and remembered for the man who reintroduced and galvanized the snow sport with his own beliefs and money.

Vail Associates secured the 1989 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships by launching an audacious bidding campaign spearheaded by its newly formed nonprofit arm, the Vail Valley Foundation (VVF), and backing it with massive infrastructure investments. At a time when elite alpine racing was strictly dominated by historic European venues, Vail strategically used international ski racing to elevate its brand from a young domestic resort to a top-tier global destination in the United States.

How Vail Attracted and Won the Bid to Host:

• Establishing the Vail Valley Foundation (VVF): Formed in the early 1980s, the VVF served as the primary organizing and political body that led the ambitious bidding process to host the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships.
• Massive Infrastructure Investment: To convince the International Ski Federation (FIS) that Colorado could handle the sport’s most prestigious event, Vail Associates invested aggressively in expanding terrain, boosting snowmaking capabilities, and accelerating the installation of cutting-edge high-speed detachable chairlifts.
• Leveraging World Cup History: Winning the bid required proving technical capability. Organizers pointed to Vail’s history of hosting World Cup races dating back to the tour’s inaugural 1967 season.
• The Dual-Mountain Appeal: Vail Associates utilized both Vail Mountain and the newly developed Beaver Creek Resort (opened in 1980) to offer world-class racing courses alongside elite hospitality logistics.
  

Key Figures Involved:

• George Gillett: The owner of Gillett Holdings, which acquired Vail Associates in 1985. Gillett was a fierce believer in elite ski racing as a marketing vehicle and was a driving, prominent supporter of the VVF’s bid.
  
• Mike Shannon: Appointed by Gillett as the President of Vail Associates in 1986 at just 27 years old, the investment-banker-turned-executive managed the intense corporate, operational, and financial preparation leading up to the games. I met Mike a few times but worked with a man whose daughter got stranded in the California mountains. Mike sent his personal plane up there for a rescue/recovery operation. Money means nothing to mountain people; especially these days, its just a gift to let others experience.
  
• Jerry Jones: The legendary marketing guru and President of Beaver Creek, who was instrumental in executing the aggressive promotional campaigns needed to draw international attention. I met Jerry a few times; know his ex and her family well.
  
• The Vail Valley Community: Local leaders and residents rallied together, creating the robust local volunteer and organizational framework needed to successfully execute the two-week event.

The gamble ultimately paid off. When the events took place from February 2–12, 1989, they completely reshaped the region’s trajectory, causing Vail’s international skier visits to skyrocket from roughly 3% to 13% in a single year.

The overwhelming success of the 1989 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships transformed Vail from an ambitious American resort into a proven global powerhouse, convincing a historically skeptical International Ski Federation (FIS) to return to Colorado just ten years later.

The 1989 event proved that Vail and Beaver Creek could flawlessly execute a complex, two-week international mega-event—traditionally reserved for historic European venues. This track record, combined with continuous World Cup hosting and massive new capital investment, paved the way for Vail to win the 1999 repeat bid.

1. Establish a Flawless Operational Reputation

Before 1989, many European ski federations doubted that a relatively young North American resort could match the logistical precision and snow management of traditional venues like Kitzbühel or St. Moritz. By delivering an exceptional event on and off the mountain, the Vail Valley Foundation (VVF) and Vail Associates shattered this skepticism. The resort established a stellar reputation for putting on superior technical events and maintaining elite race courses, building deep institutional trust with the FIS Congress.

2. Institutional Consistency via the World Cup Circuit

Vail did not let its racing infrastructure go dormant after 1989. The resort became a highly reliable, regular fixture on the FIS World Cup circuit. Consistently managing high-stakes World Cup events year after year served as an active, rolling audition. When it came time to vote on the 1999 host site, the FIS knew exactly what to expect from the VVF and local organizers.

3. Creation of the Legendary “Birds of Prey” Course

The success of 1989 fueled an appetite for a grander technical legacy. To capture the 1999 bid, organizers knew they needed a truly elite, men’s-specific downhill racecourse to rival Europe’s most fearsome tracks.

• The Design: The VVF commissioned Swiss Olympic Downhill gold medalist Bernhard Russi to design something special on Beaver Creek Mountain. [1]
• The Result: The monster Birds of Prey course was cut during the summer of 1997. Boasting a 31% average gradient and a terrifying 63% maximum pitch, the track was instantly heralded as a modern masterpiece, giving the FIS an irresistible technical venue for the 1999 games.

4. Corporate Evolution and Infrastructural Upgrades

The financial boom triggered by the 1989 event—which saw international visits rocket from 2% to 13% in one year—provided massive capital for continuous improvement. [1]

• Corporate Backing: In the mid-1990s, the resort evolved. Under Apollo Management, Vail Associates acquired neighboring terrain (like Arrowhead and Bachelor Gulch) and went public as Vail Resorts in 1997. [1]
• Valley Infrastructure: This new corporate backing and public-private cooperation funded a frenzy of infrastructure projects explicitly tied to securing and handling the 1999 games. Organizers radically modernized the valley’s base areas, built high-tech gondolas, and pioneered European-style roundabouts throughout the region to systematically eliminate the traffic bottlenecks that typically plague major mountain events.
  

By the time the FIS voted, Vail was no longer a risky, unproven underdog making an audacious pitch; it was an undisputed titan of international ski racing that had built the ultimate playground for the 1999 Championships.