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Why Calgary might close Richmond Green Golf Course

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Richmond Green Golf Course might close
WATCH ABOVE: A notice of motion set to be debated by Calgary councillors on Monday suggests closing the Richmond Green Golf Course in the city's southwest. Doug Vaessen has details – Jun 13, 2019

The City of Calgary is looking at shutting down one of its municipal golf courses.

On Monday, councillors will discuss a notice of motion that asks for the closure of the Richmond Green Golf Course after the end of the 2019 golf season.

The motion comes after the completion of a report by city administrators analyzing the profitability of the six city-owned courses.

Ward 1 Coun. Ward Sutherland said the report took a year to complete and looked at factors like how much it was costing to run the courses, how much revenue each course was generating and what could be done with the land if it wasn’t used for a course.

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“The recommendation is that we close one of the courses for this season right away, and that is the Richmond Green Golf Course,” Sutherland told Global News.

Richmond Green Golf Course in Calgary on 33 Avenue S.W. Global News
“Unfortunately, the land is not developable. There’s too much infrastructure under the land,” Sutherland explained. “However, there is [sic] some businesses that could go there and be leased for repurposing — and we are going to take a look at that to generate some funds — but right now, that golf course is approximately losing about $150,000 a year.
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Sutherland said councillors need to discuss how many golf courses the city should own, if any. A second report, which will outline the value of the courses, is set to be completed in November.

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“Maybe if we’re going to have golf courses, maybe we only have two or we have three. I’m not sure, but that is something we need to explore,” Sutherland said.

The City of Calgary owns six golf courses:

  • Confederation Park (N.W.) – Nine holes
  • Lakeview (S.W.) – Nine holes
  • Maple Ridge (S.W.) – 18 holes
  • McCall Lake (N.E.) – Both 18 holes and nine holes
  • Richmond Green (S.W.) – Nine holes
  • Shaganappi Point (S.W.) – Both 18 holes and nine holes

Sutherland said the newly redesigned McCall Lake Golf Course, which just recently partially reopened, is “making money.”

“There was a major investment done in McCall Lake recently, and the attendance from there is up quite a bit, and it does not lose money now,” he added.

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—With files from Doug Vaessen

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