Schetteregg ski resort will not open this winter

The future of the Schetteregg ski resort is uncertain again after the required majority for contracts failed narrowly at a meeting of the Alpe Gemeine Brongen and Tristen agricultural community, ORF reported, citing a statement from investor Jürgen Sutterlüty and his SCA GmbH. The resort will not open in winter 2026-27, and plans for a bike park are also in doubt.

A year-round operation with a summer bike park had been considered secured in June after lengthy negotiations. Sutterlüty was due to take over the lifts of the insolvent Egger Lift company, with work planned to begin during the summer and the bike park scheduled to open in spring 2027.

The year-round concept was a condition for Sutterlüty’s investment to be economically viable. In March, the agricultural community’s general meeting approved the summer bike park concept by a large majority, according to the statement.

On July 14, the remaining contract details were agreed with the community’s entire board and its operator. The contracts were then finalised, while planning, official procedures and technical preparations continued.

However, at an extraordinary general meeting on August 10, the contracts received the support of only 58 percent and 60 percent of grazing rights respectively. The two-thirds majority required under the community’s statutes was therefore narrowly missed.

The statement highlighted the constructive cooperation with the board of the Alpe Gemeine Brongen and Tristen. It said the result should not be understood as a collective rejection by the community or as a rejection of the work carried out jointly.

The contracts were intended to provide a reliable, long-term basis for the overall project. Because they were rejected, the project cannot currently be implemented in its planned form, the statement said.

Without long-term security and planning certainty under the current decision, Schetteregg will remain closed next winter. Further investment and preparatory measures will not be launched.

The proposed agreements were designed to run for 20 years and were intended to secure the resort’s long-term future. The statement said that millions of euros in economic value were at stake, including long-term income for farmers and landowners and the economic prospects of other partners who had prepared for the continuation and in some cases already invested.

The legal consequences of the change in direction will now be examined, particularly in relation to expenses and investments made in reliance on the earlier decision and subsequent negotiations and voting process.