Portland’s City-Owned Golf Courses Are Essentially Broke, Auditors Find

[nevets88]

I'm not in Portland, maybe those in the area can add more details to this. 

Quote

The courses are “at a crossroads,” the report said, and were kept solvent in 2017 only through an $800,000 taxpayer-funded bailout.

Portland has owned golf courses for more than 100 years and currently owns five courses: Colwood, Eastmoreland, Heron Lakes, Rose City and RedTail Golf Center, though RedTail is located in Beaverton.

Portland’s city-owned golf courses are essentially broke, auditors find

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Swift changes need to be made to keep the courses solvent, auditors said.

 

[mcanadiens]

Probably a similar story all over the country.

My locals ate $250,000 in 2017. Haven't heard a fresh number for 2018.

[DeadMan]

This is something I should pay attention to at my local course. It's city-owned, so I should be able to see the financials. The city is putting money into their courses, though, so I don't think they are money pits. But I should really get more familiar with this stuff.

[iacas]

Golf courses don’t have to operate at a profit. It’s not like a city park does (always/often).

Ideally though they DO make money.

[Patch]

The city is trying to close an old course in my area because the repairs, and replacements of operating equipment are, or will cost the city too much to keep the course open. That's the official story anyways.

Minimal maintenance (if any) is being done on the course right now, and it looks like hell. Very few golfers are using it last I heard. 

The fact that a developer will build SFRs on it, if, and when the land becomes available, although appealing to the city, they say it's not a determing factor in closing the course. 

The city had some company do a study on how much to raise green fees to keep the course open. They got a quote of $70 a round, minimum. The city says no one will pay that, since there are other, near by courses that charge $25-$35 a round. They are correct in their thinking. 

Problem is this property was deeded to the city several decades ago, with an agreement it stay a public golf course for 99 years. The city at that time agreed, in writing, to that stipulation. 

The issue is now in some court for a judge to determine what to do with the property. 

My guess is the developer will end up with the property. 

Edited May 23, 2019 by Patch

[mdl]

If you read down in the article Redtail, Eastmoreland, and Heron Lakes make money.  They're great tracks for muni courses and always pretty busy, so that's not surprising.  They could use a bit more upkeep at times, as one might expect.  Regardless, it sounds like Colwood is the dog, and that's a s***hole, so no surprise there.  I am surprised they left Rose City off the makes money list.  That and Heron Lakes are the best of the lot.