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PARK CITY — Vail Resorts announced Saturday that it is dropping its controversial application to trademark the name "Park City."
Bill Rock, Park City Mountain Resort's chief operating officer, said the dispute had "clearly become a distraction that is pulling our collective focus away from the important work that lies ahead for our city on critical issues, such as affordable housing, parking and transit among others.
"As such, we have decided to withdraw our trademark application in an effort to move beyond this concern," Rock said in a prepared statement.
The resort's effort to legally claim the name was met with backlash from the ski town, with government leaders and residents expressing concerns that the resort could use the trademark to force local businesses to change their names.
On Wednesday, about 250 protestors gathered outside City Hall to protest the company's trademark application as Vail Resorts CEO Robert Katz arrived for a closed-door meeting.
Park City Mayor Jack Thomas received a call from Rock about the decision Saturday morning, city spokeswoman Phyllis Robinson confirmed.
Thomas said he appreciates the resort's decision and expressed gratitude for the community involvement on the issue.
"From the City Council meeting in June to the peaceful protestors last week, and the nearly 800 people who provided feedback through the city’s website, the community has been at the forefront of this process and the City Council and I were listening every step of the way," the mayor said in a prepared statement.
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An estimated 250 protesters gathered outside City Hall on Wednesday as the CEO of Vail Resort arrived for a closed-door meeting about the company's effort to legally claim the name Park City.Thomas also acknowledged the "arduous and at times contentious" process and nodded to a continuing relationship with Rock and the ski resorts.
"Our strong relationship with both of our ski resorts has been and will continue to be critical to our success," he said.
Vail Resorts bought Park City Mountain Resort for $182.5 million and merged it with the neighboring Canyons resort to make it the nation's largest ski area in 2014.
According to Rock's statement, Powdr Corp filed the trademark application in 2014. Rock called the practice "common within the ski industry" and added, "We do believe that there has been some misunderstandings and misinformation about the trademark registration."
In an effort to move on, Rock said the resort will withdraw its application and work with Park City leaders to update signage in the city.
