Vail is US pick for 2015 Alpine Ski Championships

The Vail-Beaver Creek ski resort complex has been selected as the American applicant for the 2015 World Alpine Ski Championship by the US Ski and Snowboard Association.

The region, which hosted the 1989 and 1999 world championships, is expected to face competition from St. Moritz, Switzerland, and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy for the event. Both rivals were candidates for the 2013 championships.

The 2015 Alpine championships will be awarded by the International Ski Federation (FIS) at the FIS Congress next May in Antalya, Turkey.

Colorado organizers met a May 1 deadline for candidacy application and face an October 31 deadline to confirm the bid with sponsorship and television plan details.

"It's the right time for this prestigious event to come back to America," said US Ski and Snowboard Association president Bill Marolt.

The area has been an annual world ski tour stop since 1967.