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January 2, 2026

Cash crunch triggers lease hikes for vendors in Montana's state-owned ghost towns

  • The change comes as the state eyes 99-year leases for parties to invest a “substantial amount” in improving heritage property.
    • By TOM LUTEY
    Montana Free Press

    Photo by Melissa Kopka, via iStock [enlarge]
    The state is seeking 15% of gross sales from restaurants and a live theater in Virginia City, something the attraction owners told lawmakers is unaffordable.

    Things are escalating into a standoff at Montana's state-owned ghost towns, where rising rents and theme park ambitions, along with a case of embezzlement, are frustrating the owners of some of the state's top tourist attractions in neighboring Virginia and Nevada cites in southwest Montana and Reeder's Alley in Helena.


     
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