Stockton Looking For Company To Operate Swenson Golf Course
STOCKTON (CBS13) - The City of Stockton is looking for an outside company to operate the city-owned Swenson Golf Course.
Mayor Michael Tubbs announced Tuesday the city would request outside help, but provide no city subsidy.
Stockton started accepting proposals on its website Tuesday night. The proposals will be viewed in August.
Stockton has explored a variety of options for Swenson with the goal to keep it as a golf course or a green space. Mayor Tubbs insists there is no plan to build housing on the course and anyone submitting a proposal must agree.
SEE: Stockton Weighs Converting Golf Course to New Housing
In December city leaders debated the idea of turning the course into a development. At the time Mayor Tubbs said, "Mixed-use development, which means development that includes retail, housing, commerce which is, number one, a revenue generator, sustainable over the long term, it brings jobs and I think for the city and for the council it's wise to consider and I think it's a brilliant move."
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Swenson Golf Course opened in 1952. It is an 18-hole par-72 championship course measuring 6,407 yards from the longest tees. Golfers can also play a 9-hole par-3 course measuring 1,380 yards from its longest tees. The course hosts the City of Stockton Golf Championship for the men and women every summer.
Rates start at $20 ride/$10 walk to $45 ride/$30 walk.
In January several Stockton City Council members and Mayor Michael Tubbs held an informational meeting to discuss the fates of both Swenson and Van Buskirk Golf Courses. The city spends $700,000 - $850,000 a year to keep the two facilities open and operational.
WATCH: Stockton Residents Defend City-Run Golf Courses as Costs Mount
Mayor Tubbs has said golf is a declining game, a poor investment, and that there are millions of dollars in deferred maintenance at each course. At the time he said, "If someone wants to operate the golf course as a golf course with no taxpayer subsidies and can do the capital improvements, that's awesome."
The issue of operating city-owned golf course isn't just happening in Stockton.
Just last week Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg said closing the city's 9-hole course, The William Land Golf Course, wasn't an option. The private company operating the city-owned course has asked to terminate its lease with the city after revealing it will lose $150,000 this year alone.
READ: William Land Golf Course May Close; Golf Decline Continues
The Land Park course opened in 1924 and is the oldest in the City of Sacramento.
