A painstaking push to restore City Park’s storm-battered golf complex appears to be nearing an end as officials consider a scaled-down version they hope will lead to a long-term management agreement for a proposed championship course.

The revised plan — which scuttles a 9-hole course and reduces from 310 acres to 250 acres the space needed for the new, 18-hole layout — is scheduled to go before the City Park board of commissioners on March 22.

If, as expected, the redesign wins approval, board president Robert Lupo said the park wants to move quickly to finalize a contract with the Bayou District Foundation, a New Orleans nonprofit group that wants to build and operate the “high-end,’’ 18-hole course, clubhouse and driving range between Interstate 610 and Filmore Avenue.

Barring further complications, City Park CEO Bob Becker said he would like to see the first rounds of golf played during the first quarter of 2013.

Until recently, the park envisioned a project with an estimated price tag of $24.5 million that required Bayou District officials to raise $8.9 million in private money.

But Lupo said design changes, including the smaller footprint and a decision to rebuild the clubhouse and driving range in their present locations, have shaved about $2.5 million in costs.

At this point, Lupo said the park is still counting on Bayou District to stick to its $8.9 million pledge, although he acknowledged that ongoing negotiations could reduce the nonprofit’s financial stake.

Talks with Bayou District began a year ago after the foundation’s bid received the top score among three submitted to City Park.

Lupo said he is optimistic a deal will be struck, but he emphasized that the park is prepared to go it alone with its own money if necessary. City Park has about $15.5 million in hand — $5.9 million in FEMA reimbursements and $9.65 million from the state capital outlay program.

“You only know when you sign on the dotted line,’’ said Lupo, a real estate developer. “We don’t forsee any reason why we aren’t going to be able to confect an agreement with Bayou District, but to be prudent we have to have a viable option if we can’t.’’

Without outside investment, Lupo said further alterations in the golf plan will be needed until more money can be found.

For example, he said, a new clubhouse would be put on the back burner for now, with golf operations for the new course likely housed in temporary trailers. In addition, he said driving-range improvements would be put on hold.

But Lupo said Bayou District officials, who have already invested hundreds of thousands of dollars for preliminary design work, have given every indication they intend to deliver on their promises.

Things looking up

Lupo declined to discuss details of negotiations, but he said the board has made it clear that the 40-year lease Bayou District asked for will have to be reduced. He also said the park is demanding a minimum annual guarantee of about $1 million in revenue.

In its bid, the foundation also sought 40 percent of the profits from golf operations and a management fee of 4 percent of gross operating revenue. Again, Lupo would not comment on specifics, although he said all financial aspects of the agreement are being “tweaked.’’

Golf activities, traditionally a major revenue source for the cash-strapped park, had been mothballed because of damage from Hurricane Katrina until September 2009, when the North Course reopened.

Since the storm, park officials have wrestled with the idea of replacing the ruined East and West courses with a complex worthy of hosting professional tournaments.

In the meantime, golf activity in the park has climbed steadily.

Last year, the North Course had about 41,000 rounds and with the driving ranges grossed nearly $1.5 million. The park netted about $125,000 from golf in 2010.

In a report that will be presented to the City Park board at its March meeting, consultants estimate that once the entire golf complex is fully operational, it will gross at least $4 million annually and net about $900,000 for the park.

The new course, being designed by Rees Jones Architects, will offer “a high-end golf experience’’ that “will be challenging for every type of golfer,’’ the report says.

Lupo said the course will play from 5,150 yards to 7,240 yards, depending on the choice of tee box. In an effort to attract golfers of varying skill levels, the design may include up to five tee locations per hole.

“This will not be some elite course that only a few can play,’’ Lupo said.

While details are still being worked out, plans also call for a tiered fee structure with out-of-towners paying the most, Louisiana residents less and New Orleans residents being offered the lowest fees. Seniors will also get a break on fees, and rates will be lower on weekdays.

Other projects in play

If Bayou District gets the management contract, Lupo said the 35-member park board will retain control of golf-related decisions that affect the community. “We’re not handing over operation of this golf course to anybody,’’ he said.

The report says the new golf footprint makes available more land “for other types of park and recreation uses’’ and uses ground “which has substantially less tree cover’’ than the earlier plan.

“Some vocal groups wanted to see less (park land) for golf,’’ Lupo said. “We listened to those concerns and made adjustments.’’

While the proposed new layout would not use any land south of Harrison Avenue, it incorporates an area south of Filmore Avenue, which had been set aside for a second phase of the project.

The park closed the 100-acre South course after the storm to create more greenspace, starting with a $3 million transformation of the area around the lagoon known as Big Lake that debuted in 2009.

More improvements to the old golf course are on the way.

Later this year, the park will break ground on a $4 million festival grounds, a 63-acre project that will stretch along Wisner Boulevard north of Christian Brothers School toward Interstate 610.

In addition to providing a permanent home for the Voodoo Experience and other music events, the site will include soccer fields, a perimeter path for joggers and bikers and a picnic pavilion. Still on the drawing board are plans for a skate park and relocation of the downtown Louisiana Children’s Museum.

As city and state leaders wrestle with budget long-term deficits, park officials say the need to generate more of their own revenue is growing.

The Legislature, which provided the park with about $2 million in operating dollars in 2006, appropriated nothing for the current fiscal year. And while cash-strapped City Hall continues to earmark capital construction dollars, it too has budgeted no operating revenue for the park in 2011.

As recently as the mid-1990s, revenue from the park’s four 18-hole courses, considered among the best in the state at the time, was on the upswing. In 1996, golf fees came to $3.1 million, more than a third of the park’s $9.2 million operating budget.

To ensure, that City Park is able to maintain its growing list of new attractions, Lupo said restoring that revenue stream is critical.

“We’ve got to do this project,’’ he said, “or this park cannot survive.’’

•••••••

Frank Donze can be reached at fdonze@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3328.

Link to article