Sad news from New Mexico

[NikA]

Our local small business bureau informed us this week that Founders Ranch, home of the SASS World Championships in Edgewood, NM, will be closing for good at the end of March 2021. Apparently, they couldn't survive our state COVID restrictions. I've shot skeet there a couple times and felt it was a great way to meet locals in the shooting community; I am sad to see them go.

I do wonder what will happen to the land the range is on; the premises is the better part of a square mile a bit off one of our rural highways. Fingers crossed it gets bought by some locals versus getting developed.

 

[Colonialgirl]

Sad to hear that another good location/organization is being closed by the idiocy being perpetrated in this country.

 

[Mobuck]

I'm hoping this doesn't affect other enterprises/activities. If entire states put themselves in a total quarantine condition, lots of small businesses will go belly up.

 

[jimd441]

NikA - given that it was apparently successful pre-COVID, is there any chance that a group of investors will buy it and reopen post-COVID?

Jim

 

[onehandgunner]

I have been there as a spectator, it is a REALLY NICE PLACE. It sits in a bowl like area with a "hill" all around it. A local gun club used it from time to time but I don't think they have enough PETTY CASH to buy it. I know that I don't. SAD, really sad. Good ole New Mexico politics, the land of gimme I am on welfare.

 

[daveg.inkc]

Sad to hear that another good location/organization is being closed by the idiocy being perpetrated in this country.

You got that right, Pam. People cannot think for themselves.

 

[NikA]

NikA - given that it was apparently successful pre-COVID, is there any chance that a group of investors will buy it and reopen post-COVID?

Land here is cheap but I'd expect that amount of land with the skeet range and cowboy action setup to be well north of $1M. I expect it will be divided up and then you'd have the problem of whether the neighbors are OK with shooting sports happening.

Their current time frame for settling with the membership is late April, I'll keep an eye on it and give an update if I hear anything. Expect there will be news in early summer.

 

[onehandgunner]

In years past Founders Ranch was having problems with the complaints from the neighbors.

 

[chuck]

Strange, our gun club range has more that doubled in people because of BIDEN (spit)

 

[NikA]

Rural outdoor range in an area that gets significant snow and I'd guess a lot of their balance sheet was SASS and other events that were canceled by our extended shutdowns. Most folks around here that want to shoot do so on their own property or a friend's. The SASS events were a big draw for tourists, enough so that the World Championships had a 2 week town event associated with them. I'd bet they were in trouble as soon as the events were canceled last summer and just limping along hoping that reopening would happen soon enough this year to tide them over.

It didn't. Our governor has been enthusiastic enough about COVID shutdowns to have been considered for a post in the Biden administration.