CNL purchased Brighton from Boyne USA Inc. and then entered a long-term lease agreement with Boyne to continue operating the resort, its two restaurants, 20-room lodge, ski-rental facility and a small retail outlet.

"We really are excited about the ski sector," said Flanker Legler, CNL's director of investor relations and research. "We see this [wave] of baby boomers coming into retirement. They're skiing longer and . . . we see [them] going to a day ski place where they can spend 4 to 6 hours with their grandchildren. We really like that."

Calls to Boyne USA in Michigan were not returned. The Tribune also was unable to reach Randy Doyle, who has managed the resort since Boyne acquired it in 1987 and whose family has been involved in Brighton's operations since the mid-1940s.

Legler insisted Brighton, one of seven ski resorts the company has purchased since May, will benefit from CNL's ownership and Boyne's continued service as operator.

"We don't want to be in operations. We own real estate," he said. "That's why we're such attractive capital. We're patient. We sign long-term leases that show we're in it for the long haul. And the capital gives [Boyne] the opportunity to work on their operations. It only helps us if the operator does well."

In the agreement, Boyne gets two leases totaling 20 years with four, five-year renewal options. It also has an option to repurchase the property between 2014 and 2032. In return, Boyne will pay minimum annual rent starting at $3.2 million and increasing to $3.9 million, plus a share of revenue over a specific but unidentified threshold.

Brighton's acquisition was disclosed Friday in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing, one day after CNL revealed it had purchase seven theme and water parks from Six Flags Inc., including Elitch Gardens in Denver, for $312 million.

Legler said the trust is aggressively interested in becoming a major player in the leisure and lifestyle sector.

"We've raised a lot of money and we're spending a lot of money," he said, citing CNL's investment of more than $1 billion in golf courses, marinas, campgrounds, mobile home or recreational vehicle parks, health clubs, parking lots, bowling centers and manufacturer's outlet centers.

And ski resorts.

CNL's deal for Brighton is its fourth ski-related acquisition in seven months. Total purchase price: $275.5 million.

On Dec. 8, CNL reached a still-pending agreement to buy Northstar-at-Tahoe and Sierra-at-Tahoe resorts in California, Loon Mountain in New Hampshire and The Summit at Snoqualmie near Seattle from Booth Creek Ski Holdings, Inc. for $170 million.

In June, it acquired the home resort of U.S. ski racer Bode Miller, Bretton Woods Ski Area in New Hampshire, for $45 million. A few days earlier, CNL spent $27.5 million for Cypress Mountain, a small resort 13 miles north of Vancouver, British Columbia, that will be the venue for freestyle skiing and snowboarding at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Like Brighton, Cypress Mountain was owned by Boyne, which will continue to operate it under a long-term lease.

mikeg@sltrib.com

Brighton Resort's purchaser, CNL Income Properties Inc., has been on a buying spree in the past seven months. It has bought:

* Brighton from Boyne USA on Friday for $35 million

* Seven Six Flags Inc. theme and water parks on Thursday for $312 million

* Five marinas on Dec. 22 for $69 million

* Four properties from Booth Creek Ski Holdings Inc. - Northstar-at-Tahoe and Sierra-at-Tahoe in California, Loon Mountain in New Hampshire and the Summit at Snoqualmie near Seattle - on Dec. 1 for $170 million

* Eleven family entertainment centers in six states on Oct. 6 for $35 million

* Bretton Woods Ski Area and three lodges in New Hampshire on June 23 for $45 million

* Cypress Mountain Resort outside of Vancouver, British Columbia, May 30 in another lease-back deal with Boyne, for $27.5 million

* Ten golf courses between May and November for $163 million