Poley Mountain ski hill opens new, larger lodge

The Poley Mountain skihill opened on Monday with a new, larger lodge, replacing the one that burned down last year.

• New Brunswick ski hills see changes for season

• PoleyMountain Ski Resort lodge destroyed by fire

When the old Poley Mountain lodge caught fire last December, it caused millions of dollars in damage and it forced Bill Anderson, the ski hill's manager, and his team to scramble to keep the business alive last season.

Anderson said insurance covered the cost of replacing the old lodge but his team had a bigger vision.

The lodge that opened on Monday is about 70 per cent larger than the one that was destroyed last December.

Anderson said the new lodge is 29,000 square feet, up from 17,000 square feet.

"This was an opportunity for us to grow because we needed this lodge facility because we've grown this last few years with uphill capacity and downhill capacity," he said.

Skiers and snowboarders were appreciative of all the extra space in the new facilitywhen they saw it on Monday.

Mike Justason called the new lodge "beautiful."

"It's nice to have a little bit more room than the old building," he said.

Chadd Geldart, 17, said he appreciated the old lodge but the new facility was "pretty awesome."

"I think she's pretty wicked. Nice and big, spacious, lots of seating room," said Geldart.

Mathieu LeBlanc said he thought the modern design of the new lodge was missing a little of the original building's character.

"I like the old one better but this one's pretty good too, honestly," he said.

With more snow on the way this week, and the snow-making machines working full blast, the resort hopes to have all 32 runs open by New Year's Day.

Anderson said the opening of the lodge represents a year of hard work for everyone at the ski hill.

"I think now the staff and myself and our board and all our management really feel that what we accomplished last year and seeing the project we got now was well worth it," he said.