You can spend hours studying the financial charts of the five Tucson City golf courses but there is one number that counts: 69,845 fewer rounds have been played this year than in 2013.
That means net operating expenses are down about $1.1 million this year. It also means that the future of Silverbell, Fred Enke and El Rio golf courses are uncertain.
This is unsettling news for OB Sports, the golf management firm that is nearing the end of its second year operating the five courses. It’s more unsettling for the golfers who play the muni courses.
“I’m all for giving OB Sports a chance to make it work; we handed them a pretty tough product to sell,’’ City councilman Steve Kozalchik told me. “But we are going to have to make some hard decisions.’’
The five courses are carrying a debt of nearly $8 million; about $7 million of that was inherited from the city group who ran the courses for 13 years. The slow growth of golf in Tucson and nationwide, suggests this isn’t just a slump.
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OB Sports has completed a facelift of the once-stodgy city golf operation. The day-to-day operation is professional. The playing conditions are as good as they’ve been in more than 15 years, perhaps longer. The restrooms are clean. Cart paths are edged and maintained. Trash cans no longer overflow with debris near each tee.
Even the gem of the five-course group, the Randolph Golf Complex, has a $209,000 deficit this year.
“We’re going to have a very comprehensive review of this on Dec. 15 at the council meeting and the golfers in this community need to come forward, step up and participate in the discussion and in the calls-to-the-audience,’’ said Kozalchik. “The council understands this is a big deal."
