[zmtber]

I was wondering has anything like this ever happened before locally. You know, where a mountain or park that supports the extreme sports closes down to the local sport community do to liability cost.

If so I'm curious tell me about them

thanks
-Zac

 

[Kornphlake]

Lake Dolores had some problems with liability insurance and their waterpark, well that and the fact that the entire construction and operation was a scam.

Honestly that's the only instance that comes to mind, in this case insurance was just too big a cost to keep afloat.

 

[roberts]

The insurance should not be an issue.

THis sort of litigation is common w/ skiing. However, the resorts usually win under "assumption of risk" by the user.

But, a resort does have a duty not to make the resort more dangerous than the inherent danger in the sport.

I am sure that is why this litigation was not dismissed outright: The plaintiff is arguing that the race course was more than inherently dangerous because of the placement of the pole.

More explanation: When you went to BB, you assumed the risk of trees, rocks, dirt, jumps, etc. THese are inherent dangers of riding. But you don't assume the risk of hitting an ATV driving up the course.

 

[HarryCallahan]

This is going to date me big time, but there was a wave of private skate parks that opened back in the 70's, which pretty much all went out of business due to insurance costs, not because folks stopped skating. There was one right off I-5 in Del Mar by the fair grounds, and another up in Carlsbad.

 

[mealsonwheels]

Sand Hill Ranch in the east bay had a similar issue.

 

[blt2ride]

When I was a kid (mid-late 80s), it happened to the BMX tracks we used to race on. I think, it was a long time ago, that a rider was seriously injured at the Ascot BMX track, which sent the ABA in a downward spiral. We went from having two local tracks to having nothing...

Also, don't forget about Indian Dunes in Valencia; which was a hot moto spot during the 80s. Same story there, a lawsuit led to its closure...


There are so many places like Big Bear, it's nothing new...

 

[spookydave]

This is going to date me big time, but there was a wave of private skate parks that opened back in the 70's, which pretty much all went out of business due to insurance costs, not because folks stopped skating. There was one right off I-5 in Del Mar by the fair grounds, and another up in Carlsbad.

thanks for this post. I thought I was the only one that remembers.

 

[manwithgun]

Lake Dolores had some problems with liability insurance

I remember those commercials as a kid; stand-up water slides and monster rope swings. That place seemed like such a deathtrap... man, I wish they were still open.

 

[MisterClean]

This is going to date me big time, but there was a wave of private skate parks that opened back in the 70's, which pretty much all went out of business due to insurance costs, not because folks stopped skating. There was one right off I-5 in Del Mar by the fair grounds, and another up in Carlsbad.

There was also The Concrete Wave in Anaheim (1st skate park in SoCal), Skatopia in Buena Park, Upland and several others. I was a member at the Wave and Skatopia.

 

[MisterClean]

Also, don't forget about Indian Dunes in Valencia; which was a hot moto spot during the 80s. Same story there, a lawsuit led to its closure...


There are so many places like Big Bear, it's nothing new...

What I find strange about all of the discussions about Big Bear is that most people fail to mention that a partial cause of the closure was the poor behavior of a few people who didn't want to stay on the established routes.

 

[Ciaran]

What I find strange about all of the discussions about Big Bear is that most people fail to mention that a partial cause of the closure was the poor behavior of a few people who didn't want to stay on the established routes.

IMO that is because people don't want to take responsibility for their own actions. No one wants to think that they were part of the problem.

You make a very good point.

The insurance should not be an issue.

THis sort of litigation is common w/ skiing. However, the resorts usually win under "assumption of risk" by the user.

As far as I can tell from my own limited research it seems that this assumed risk dealie-o only applies to skiing. There are laws written to cover skiing.

I could be wrong, but this is what I have seen so far.