Viable business case for gondola

Re. “What is gondola's business plan?” Letters, June 21

We are pleased that you are excited by our gondola proposal. We have spent more than $1 million of private-sector money on assessing its viability. So, clearly, we are, too.

I have been so fortunate to work with world-class firms as well as our own management team and board made up of remarkable Edmontonians with diverse skill sets to develop an investment-calibre business case that strikes an innovative balance between tourism experiences and urban transportation.

This business case includes an independent ridership and revenue assessment by Steer Group, an unquestioned global leader in relevant development analysis. Steer's work then became the basis for a full business case produced by PWC.

While we sincerely appreciate your interest, I must say that many of the assumptions made in your “back-of-the-napkin” analysis are inaccurate. But that's fine.

We, too, have learned a lot only because we kept an open mind, spent our own money, trusted experts and just did the work.

Jeffrey Hansen-carlson, president and CEO,

Prairie Sky Gondola