The state is prepared to release $6.5 million to refurbish the Laurel Mountain Ski Area as soon as the owners of Seven Springs Mountain Resort can negotiate a lease for the site.

Seven Springs reached a deal Wednesday to buy existing equipment from Somerset Trust Co. and reopen the ski area if the state provided money to upgrade the area. Susan Hooper, spokeswoman for the state Office of Budget, said the money is available in the capital budget for release at Gov. Ed Rendell's discretion.

The funds would include $5 million for park restoration and $1.5 million to renovate and rehabilitate ski facilities.

The money won't be released until the lease agreement is worked out, funding to complete the work is secured and discussions about seasonal land-use restrictions are held with adjacent land owners, she said.

Seven Springs has to negotiate a long-term lease for the site with the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to operate the ski area. Seven Springs Chairman Bob Nutting said earlier this week that state funding was "critical" to reopening the ski area.

Seven Springs operated the 63-acre ski area for the state in the 2004-05 season -- before the Nutting family bought Seven Springs -- and lost $220,000 there. The site needs improvements to its chairlift, snow-making system, snow-grooming equipment, as well as more water-impoundment ponds to draw from to make snow.

The ski area could be open this winter if the lease can be completed and the capital funds are released.