Closed course

A plan to close the city’s municipal golf course to the public as many as 14 weekend days each season is more than local residents should be asked to accept.

When advocates were trying to sell city officials on the idea of a municipal golf course, they returned again and again to a single mantra: Lawrence needs an affordable golf course that is accessible to the public.

With that in mind, how can city recreation officials now propose a plan that would make the city’s Eagle Bend Golf Course off-limits to the public for as many as 14 weekend days every year?

The answer, of course, is money. Lawrence Parks and Recreation officials estimate they could increase Eagle Bend’s annual revenue by $25,000 to $30,000 a year by closing the course to the public and reserving it for private golf tournaments as often as two weekend days each month from April to October. The proposal is part of the department’s budget request presented last week to Lawrence city commissioners.

It’s not clear how officials arrived at that revenue estimate. How many private tournaments would they actually attract? And how does the revenue from a tournament compare with revenue from a weekend that the course is open to the public? Could private tournaments be scheduled on weekdays when the course is in less demand?

Mayor Sue Hack is right when she says “it’s hard to turn down $20,000 to $30,000 in revenues,” but the city’s obligations go beyond simple dollars and cents. Eagle Bend is a municipal golf course supported by local tax dollars. Although supporters were adamant that the golf course would more than break even and cost the city nothing to operate, that hasn’t happened.

That means the city is subsidizing the golf course at least partially as a service to local residents. It’s not that much different from what the city does for its municipal swimming pools, two indoor pools at the city’s high schools and the Outdoor Aquatic Center downtown.

How would city commissioners or local residents feel about a proposal that would close the outdoor pool for six weekend days each summer to accommodate private parties? The pool may close one weekend a year to host a major swim meet, but even then swimmers have the option of going to one of the indoor municipal pools. Closing for two weekend days a month almost certainly would trigger an outcry from the public which expects to have access during prime weekend time to their publicly funded recreation facility.

A few weekend closings each year at Eagle Bend probably would be acceptable, but two weekends a month is excessive. If the city believes private tournaments will raise significant additional revenue for the golf course, they should look at a more limited plan to achieve that goal.