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The citys five courses are competing against each other for market share. Closing a course would likely result in the remaining city courses capturing a portion of those 35,000 to 40,000 rounds each year, Ortega wrote in a memo.
These figures dont include the $25 million price tag the city estimates it will have to spend on capital projects at the courses to keep them operational during the next 20 years. Fred Enke alone needs $1.5 million in capital improvements during the next five years, the city said. Silverbell, which has seen declines in rounds played, is facing about $1.1 million in needed improvements in the next five years. All the citys courses are run day to day by a private management company.
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Silverbell golf course averaged 38,704 golfers a year, but lost $106,733 in the last fiscal cycle. (Source: City of Tucson memo to Council, dated August 4, 2017)
The reason why the decision on the two 18-hole courses at Reid Park the 93-year-old Randolph courses is clear is they are the only courses generating significant revenue. Additionally, the city put a restriction in place in 1925 that the land at Randolph Park is forever dedicated as and for a municipal golf course and public park, meaning it would be difficult for the city to close those courses.
And whatever decision the city manager comes up with will have to come before the council for a final vote.
By closing a single money-losing course, officials say, the city could decrease day-to-day and future costs, while still keeping a sizable portion of the golfers who use those courses.
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Getting federal permission just adds another step in a process and isnt a roadblock, he said.
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El Rio Golf Course averages about 40,000 golfers a year, but lost $305,000 in the last fiscal cycle. (Source: City of Tucson memo to Council, dated August 4, 2017)
Reporter with the Arizona Daily Star. I cover politics as well as the city of Tucson and other municipalities in Southern Arizona.
Silverbell Golf Course is the most likely of the five city courses to undergo a dramatic change the soonest.
If we are going to be paying for golf courses that are not making any money, then we should consider making them parks, Romero said.
However, Romero isnt completely opposed to changes there, suggesting she would be open to reducing operations from 18 holes to nine if the city could find other uses that focused on family recreational activities.
While the city is giving serious consideration to closing Fred Enke and/or Silverbell, Ortega said that city staff over the last year has evaluated every course. The decision to focus on those two courses now, he said, was a decision made by the council.
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But the city could have a fight on another front other than golfers if it tries to close Silverbell and sell the property to a developer, she said.
City officials said while the rounds played at El Rio have largely remained the same year over year, the course struggles with aging infrastructure that will need major repairs.
For now, the courses will continue to operate, with next fiscal years budget fully funding operations.
Among the necessary steps: public meetings to gather input on what the recreational needs are in the surrounding community, getting appraisals and developing plans for the proposed property and the submitting of a formal request to close the course to the National Park Service all before the course could be shuttered.
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However, a more in-depth look at the finances of those courses shows that only ones generating money are the Randolph courses. City documents show the midtown courses have been in the black for years putting $2.54 million into city coffers between July 2014 and June 2017.
Ortega said he was concerned some council members see those restrictions as essentially a deal-breaker to moving forward.
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They dont want to see development along Silverbell, she said.
Silverbell golf course averaged 38,704 golfers a year, but lost $106,733 in the last fiscal cycle. (Source: City of Tucson memo to Council, dated August 4, 2017)
El Rio Golf Course averages between 35,000 and 38,000 golfers a year, but lost $316,414 in the last fiscal cycle. (Source: City of Tucson memo to Council, dated August 4, 2017)
Directions from the City Council to City Manager Mike Oretga last week were crystal clear explore any and all uses for the Fred Enke and Silverbell golf courses, including closing them or selling the land to developers.
The Fred Enke Golf Course, above, along with the city-owned Silverbell course, could be in jeopardy.
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On paper, Ortega signaled last year that Silverbell might be the easiest to close, outlining a series of steps that would need to happen if the council decided to close the course and sell the west-side property.
On paper, the city is in the black when it comes to its golf operations. Officials expect to take in $151,000 more than expenses for the day-to-day operations for the Silverbell, El Rio and Fred Enke golf courses, as well as the two 18-hole Randolph courses at Reid Park.
The city lost nearly $1.3 million between July 2014 and June 2017, just on day-to-day operations at El Rio. During the same period, the course averaged 40,000 golfers a year, city figures show. By comparison, roughly 100,000 people play golf at the Randolph courses each year.
Contact reporter Joe Ferguson r 573-4197. On Twitter: @JoeFerguson
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Romero, whose west-side ward boundaries at one time extended up to the Silverbell golf course, said residents in the neighborhood just to the west of the course have long had serious concerns about commercial development or multi-family housing changing the semi-rural area.
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The section about the Park Service represents a fly in the ointment when it comes to closing the course.
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The councils action last week, though, directed that discussion to primarily focus on just two of the five courses.
Each course averages about 35,000 to 40,000 rounds.
There is a path forward should the council look to use those lands for something other than open space and recreational purposes, Ortega reassured the council last week.
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The city took water-conservation funds from the NPS to build Silverbell and Fred Enke, and a stipulation in accepting those grants is that the city must permanently open a new park with land set aside for open space before it can close either course.
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Feedback from the community on the future of the golf courses now several months old overwhelming opposed the closure of any of the city-owned properties. Dozens of emails implored the council to keep all five courses running, saying they are an economic asset cherished by the community.
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Silverbell Golf Course is the most likely of the five city courses to undergo a dramatic change the soonest.
They also, she said, have concerns about how the closure of Silverbell would affect wildlife corridors along the banks of the Santa Cruz River.
El Rio Golf Course averages between 100,000 golfers a year and brought $924,109 in the last fiscal cycle. (Source: City of Tucson memo to Council, dated August 4, 2017)
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What is not clear is why elected officials are not considering the closure of the El Rio course. The west-side course loses nearly $11 for every round of golf played there.
The Fred Enke Golf Course, above, along with the city-owned Silverbell course, could be in jeopardy.
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If you mention to folks about other uses at El Rio, their hair just burns, she said.
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It is a continuation of a conversation the council started roughly eight months ago when it gave the green light to a series of public meetings to solicit feedback from the community on the future of the citys struggling golf operations. That feedback, primarily from golfers, has come in and it was overwhelmingly against closing any city-run course including the two now in the spotlight for significant changes.
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Alternatives for the two courses now include the possibility of partial redevelopment, including business and residential, to creating other recreational uses such as disc golf courses, public parks and walking paths.
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Councilwoman Regina Romero argued there is a good reason why El Rio isnt on the chopping block.
The other three courses continue to hemorrhage money on an annual basis. In the last fiscal cycle, Fred Enke operated in the red to the tune of $316,424, while El Rio lost $305,475 and Silverbell cost taxpayers another $106,733 to operate over expenses.
El Rio Golf Course averages between 35,000 and 38,000 golfers a year, but lost $316,414 in the last fiscal cycle. (Source: City of Tucson memo to Council, dated August 4, 2017)
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El Rio Golf Course averages between 100,000 golfers a year and brought $924,109 in the last fiscal cycle. (Source: City of Tucson memo to Council, dated August 4, 2017)
Some Tucson-run golf courses could close, be redeveloped in coming years
The city, she reasoned, would use less water, and while the city would lose some golf revenues, the parks would be open to the public for free.
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The neighborhood around the course has long been opposed to redeveloping the area, which hit a critical point during the failed Grand Canyon University deal of 2013. Romero removed her support for the deal, which would have turned the course into a campus for the private college, but not before taking considerable political heat from residents.
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El Rio Golf Course averages about 40,000 golfers a year, but lost $305,000 in the last fiscal cycle. (Source: City of Tucson memo to Council, dated August 4, 2017)
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