The City of Lemoore’s 18 hole golf course is on the market for sale listed for $950,000 on the real estate website LoopNet. The 114 acre municipal course, built in1955 and expanded in1991, is located on 18th Ave and Jackson.
City Finance Director Cheryl Silva says the property is owned by the successor agency to the now defunct city redevelopment agency and has a total debt of around $3.7 million.
That is money owed to the city’s general fund she says after years of subsidizing the golf course debt payment through the redevelopment agency.
Silva says there is interest in the property from the Tachi Yokut tribe but that “ I have no idea where they are in the negotiating process.” The tribe has been listed on the city council closed door agenda under property negotiations last month.
It is not clear if the tribe is interested in using the acreage to continue to run a golf course. The land is well located right off of Hwy 198 – about a mile from the tribe’s hotel and casino complex.
But realtor Dora Vigil who is listed as the agent for the sale says there is no pending agreement with the tribe at this time.
Rezoning part of the acreage could boost its value to the tribe and on the market. A popular re- use nationwide is to build housing on the course.
Older muni courses compete for fewer golfers with newer courses like Dinuba..
According to the National Golf Foundation, in 2012 there were 15,753 courses in the U.S — down 299 from 2005. Some 25.7 million Americans were considered golfers last year — down 4.3 million from 2005. NGF says 463 million rounds were played last year — that’s down from 500 million in 2005 and 518 million in 2000.