Westgate�s development at The Canyons will feature 235 units and add 1,310 pillows to the resort�s slopeside bed base, bringing the total to 3,110. It will be built in the core of the resort village at The Canyons, adjacent to the resort�s Sundial Lodge and Grand Summit Resort Hotel.

Purchase price of the land and timeshare development rights is $7.4 million.

In addition, Westgate has separately contracted with American Skiing Company to purchase 150,000 lift tickets at The Canyons over the next five years, to use in conjunction with its sales efforts.

According to Westgate chief development officer Mark Waltrip, facilities at the project are expected to include 20,000 square feet of retail space, a health spa, a restaurant, a heated pool, outdoor hot tubs and a private club for Westgate owners. The project will be sold in one- and two-week intervals.

�We�ve found a great partner in Westgate,� said American Skiing Company chairman and chief executive officer Leslie B. Otten.  �There are four major lodging components in the village core at The Canyons: our Grand Summit quartershare hotel, whole-ownership condominiums, whole-ownership townhomes and timeshare. Westgate represents the timeshare component in the village core. They�re a company with a proven track record, and have more than 150,000 owners in their network.� 

Mr. Otten noted that Sundial Lodge, the first phase of full-ownership condominiums at The Canyons, was completely sold out and that the Grand Summit Resort Hotel is more than 60 percent sold out. Both facilities opened this winter. In addition, Mr. Otten said that the resort�s new Whisper Ridge Townhome project will be introduced later this month.  �Many owners at our other projects made it clear they wanted us to add a ski resort project to our network,� said Westgate chairman and chief executive officer David Siegel. �More than 50 percent of our owners are repeat customers or sources of referrals to new customers. This project gives us the opportunity to become part of the most dramatic ski resort development ever undertaken in the United States. The slopeside location of the village at The Canyons makes this an incredibly attractive site, and I�m confident that the joint marketing programs between Westgate and American Skiing Company will contribute to the success of the project.�

In conjunction with the new lodging property, a �people mover� lift is planned from the lower reaches of the resort property. The lift will enable day visitors and overnight guests staying in lodging properties downhill from the resort village core to access the mountain without riding shuttle buses. Construction of both the lodging and lift facilities is tentatively planned for this summer.  Westgate�s commitment to purchase the property is subject to standard closing conditions and local government approval of its design plans for the property. The land purchase is expected to close in July.

Headquartered in Newry, ME, the American Skiing Company is the largest operator of alpine ski, snowboard and golf resorts in the United States. Its resorts include Steamboat in Colorado; Killington, Mount Snow and Sugarbush in Vermont; Sunday River and Sugarloaf/USA in Maine; Attitash Bear Peak in New Hampshire; The Canyons in Utah; and Heavenly in California/Nevada.

Westgate Resorts, headquartered in Orlando, FL, is the largest privately- held timeshare developer in the world. It operates eight luxury timeshare resorts, including four in the Orlando area, one in Miami Beach, one in Daytona Beach and the new Westgate Smoky Mountain Resort at Gatlinburg TN.