BETTING ON A SHORE THING

A family with five decades' experience serving boaters at Lake Mead is sinking its roots deeper into the shrinking reservoir, thanks to a $10 million deal to buy Lake Mead Marina.

The Gripentog family, whose connections to Lake Mead date back to 1957, closed a deal this month with Seven Crown Resorts to buy the 460-slip Lake Mead Marina and is already embarking on improvements to the facilities.

In February, low lake levels prompted a move of the floating Lake Mead Marina from its former location north of Boulder Beach to its current spot two miles south near Hemenway Launch and adjacent to Las Vegas Boat Harbor, a marina the Gripentogs already owned.

Co-owner and general manager Robert Gripentog said it made sense for the family to buy their new neighbor and consolidate.

"They were our competitor for years and years and years," Gripentog said. "This allows us to be able to expand our business."

The side-by-side marinas still bear different names but share clientele and operate under a single management structure, Gripentog said. Combined, the marinas have 1,390 slips and the average rental rate is about $280 per month, he said. Rates vary depending on the size of the slip.

Boaters are hopeful the Gripentogs will be more diligent with maintenance and upgrades than Seven Crown, which is based in Irvine, Calif., and still operates a marina at Echo Bay on Lake Mead and another on Lake Mohave near Laughlin.

"My boat is the second-biggest investment I have," said David Hoch, 54, of Las Vegas. "I want the (marina experience) to be somewhat equal to that investment."

Under Seven Crown, bathrooms and showers at Lake Mead Marina fell into disrepair, said Hoch, who owns a 26-foot sailboat.

"They were very dirty, there were bugs and mud, fixtures were in bad repair," Hoch said.

A representative for Seven Crown did not return a call for comment on the sale.

Since the Gripentogs took over, they have cleaned the bathrooms and common areas and, according to Hoch, been quicker to respond to customer concerns. They also operate a restaurant and gift shop at the site.

There's incentive to improve the visitor experience at the marinas, which are maintained as concessions in Lake Mead National Recreation Area, a unit of the National Park Service.

The recreation area attracts about 8 million people annually, making it the fifth-most visited of 391 national park units, according to spokeswoman Roxanne Dey.

Concessions in the park, which include the marinas and the Desert Princess lake cruises, generate about $47 million in gross receipts, about $2 million of which goes to the park service.

In 2007, about 388,000 visitors used the road leading to Las Vegas Boat Harbor and Lake Mead Marina, according to park service records.

But even with the high visitor volume, there are challenges.

Lake levels have dropped drastically in recent years as a result of a continuing drought in areas along the Colorado River, the water source for Lake Mead.

The low levels have prompted boat launch closures, marina moves and news coverage highlighting parched shoreline that was once covered by shimmering water.

"You have shallow water appearing where it wasn't before," Hoch said, adding that the low water makes night sailing more difficult. "Charts don't reflect the current lake level."

But even at the current level of 1,108 feet, well below the 1,180 to 1,220 that was once considered typical, the lake is still massive and supports boating, fishing, personal water craft and skiing.

"Everything you could do when the water was at 1,180, you can still do at 1,108," Dey said.

Park service regulations are another challenge.

The park service regulates the number of slips and marinas at Lake Mead, prohibits advertising in the park and has restrictions that preclude hotels and other amenities that could draw more customers.

"Everything is regulated for us, right down to the price of soda pop," Gripentog said.

Still, the family is confident enough in the future to feel good about the investment in Lake Mead Marina.

Gripentog said the increasing population in the Las Vegas Valley is bringing more locals to the lake, and he expects there will be water as long as the Colorado River remains a satiating source for people of Utah, Nevada, California and Arizona.

"If we don't have Lake Mead and Lake Powell, then we don't have the Southwestern United States," he said.

It's the second consolidation at Lake Mead in recent years as the number of marinas has shrunk from six to four, although the number of available slips for boats hasn't changed, with 3,297 in Lake Mead and 1,433 in Lake Mohave, which is also part of Lake Mead National Recreation Area.

Contact reporter Benjamin Spillman at bspillman@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861.