Xanterra, a long-time concessionaire at the Grand Canyon, has filed an injunction to stop the awarding of a contract to its competitor Delaware North for concessions formerly held by Xanterra.
“We have no option left but to take legal action and request an injunction to stop the implementation of these contracts in the hope that we can prevent the eviction of 224 of our employees, many of whom are long-time residents and families with deep roots in, knowledge of and passion for the Grand Canyon,” said Andrew N. Todd, president & CEO of Xanterra. “Xanterra has exhausted every avenue in an effort to correct this situation in an amicable and commercially reasonable manner before it became a crisis for so many families and the community, but the NPS has chosen instead to ignore the obvious problems created by its arbitrary decisions.”
The controversy centers on the reconfiguration of the venues at the canyon, making one part of the concessions considerably larger than the other.
“One of the things we did was move some of the services from the South Rim contract,” said Kirby Lynn Shedlowski, spokeswoman for the Grand Canyon. Some of those services are the lodging and food services at Yavapai Lodge, camper services and Trailer Village RV campground and operations and the service station currently operated by Xanterra South Rim L.L.C.
Two bids will be let this year covering the next 15 years at the Grand Canyon. The first new contract for that, won by Delaware North Companies, Inc., was to begin in January. Bids for the final portion of the venues were due on Oct. 8.
Cole Finigan, an attorney representing Xanterra, says company officials cannot understand the motivation behind the National Park Service splitting the contracts.
“That is what we are trying to understand and we don’t think the decision is based in logic or reason,” Finigan said. “We don’t understand the reasoning behind it.”
He says he hopes that putting the matter before a judge will help sort out the matter.
Shedlowski says the bids are reviewed by a panel of concession experts not involved with the Grand Canyon. The panel decides the winning bid for parks all over the country.
Xanterra has been a major presence at the canyon for many years, so this shake-up concerns many employees who live at the park, which provides their housing. Some of the employees have been employed there for as long as 30 years.
“Some of the employees will have to move,” said a resident who wished not to be identified. “The Park Service wants to be competitive, but if Xanterra loses the contract, a lot of people will lose their jobs. If a new company comes in, who is going to train all these people?”
In addition, the National Park Service would have to come up with more than $1 million to pay down Xanterra’s Lease Hold Surrender Interest of improvements made in the park over the years, Finigan notes.
Officials at the Park Service and Grand Canyon say they cannot comment since the lawsuit has been filed. FBN
By Patty McCormac