Pursuits
Russian Tycoon Rallies Kremlin to Build Black-Sea Courchevel
- Potanin’s resort lobbies for expansion of Olympics ski area
- Expansion may take decades, $5 billion, Roza Khutor CEO says
This article is for subscribers only.
President Vladimir Putin’s dream of turning Sochi into a rival for the Alps has gotten a boost from Russian tourists staying home after the ruble’s collapse, so much so that resorts say they face overcrowding.
Vladimir Potanin -- whose $2 billion of spending is among the most from the billionaires tapped to build the pistes and stadiums for the 2014 Winter Olympics -- is planning to invest $90 million more on his Roza Khutor ski area to increase capacity by 2018. At the same time, he’s told the president a wider expansion, which may cost $5 billion, is needed to turn the Black Sea area into a draw similar to Europe’s biggest resorts.