B.C.'s Red Mountain ski resort tests crowdfunding

One of the oldest ski hills in North America is looking tocrowdfundingto raise money.

Red Mountain, in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia,will testcustomer loyalty byattempting to raise between $5 million and $10 million through a crowdfunding campaign, offering skiers a chance to own a piece of the hill they love.

Red Mountain CEO Howard Katkov compared the campaign to fans owning the Green Bay Packers NFL football team.

Katkov though, says he will maintain a controlling interest in the ski hill, and there will be no voting rights or dividend pay-outs to investors.

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From crowd investor to owner

Under his plan, participants buy a share certificate, which Katkov said represents ownership in the total asset base of Red Mountain, including "undeveloped land, chair lifts, lodges, everything."

"You own a piece of everything."

Investment can vary from $1,000 to $25,000, he said.

"They'll get perks like lift tickets and membership to a club house."

Many unanswered questions, consultant says

Jeff Harbaugh, a Seattle-area consultant, investor and analyst specializing in the sports industrysays the plan leaves a lot of questions unanswered.

"I love the idea and I love it because we've lost a lot of smaller resorts," he told Daybreak South host Chris Walker.

"Having said that, I don't know what I'd be investing in right now. But I guess we'll know more about that as the process goes forward."

Harbaugh says if successful, the contributors will ultimately be buying stock in the company.

That means the company will eventually have to file documents with regulators and disclose financial information.

Harbaugh says for now this isn't something for serious investors, but it's still intriguing.

"There's nothing wrong with taking a flyer on something you love."

With files from Bob Keating and CBC Radio One's Daybreak South