SAN JOSE – Most of the publically owned Golf courses are operating with losses and taking a $2 million bite out of San Jose’s general funds each year, according to a recent city audit.
City leaders have been prompted to consider closing a golf course and reusing the land for something else.
“We have these courses open, but very few people play in them and we can’t be subsidizing them forever,” said Councilman Tam Nguyen, whose district includes the Los Lagos course. (via Mercury News)
In order to cover operating losses, mounting debt and capital improvements, the city had to give away 2.2 million dollars last year to golf courses. This number is expected to go up to $2.6 million this year.
There are three golf courses owned by San jose: Los Lagos, Rancho del Pueblo and Muni. Out of all three, only Muni is making money for the city – around $400,000 per year.
The other two courses have faced a dramatic drop of revenues as golf play decreased by 28% at the 180-acre Los Lagos with 18 holes, and 42% for Rancho del Pueblo, with nine holes across 31 acres.
Both of them are losing around $300,000 per year and face a huge load of debt: $18.3 million for Los Logos and $4/5 million for Rancho del Pueblo.
Councilman Ngyen supports the idea of consolidating the two golf courses into one. He says that converting the land into courses for other sports, like soccer, softball or baseball, would require one-time conversion costs, but also ensure profit on the long run.
“We must make good use of the land to accommodate more people,” Nguyen said. “It’s better to have more people benefit from the land instead of so few people.” (via Mercury News)
This isn’t the first time San Jose has tried to get rid of its golf courses. There was a similar attempt in 2011, which was actually an effort to sell Rancho del Pueblo and build condos, but it was met with sharp criticism, public outcry and an ugly political fight.
(via Mercury News)
