Nine possible buyers stopped by to ‘kick the tires’ of our Links at Brigantine Golf Course. A mandatory pre-bid conference was held on Wednesday, August 20 at The Links clubhouse.
Purchased with borrowed money by the city in 2002, the Links has contributed heavily to something that residents were told would never happen: taxpayers having to pony up to cover losses related to the course.
A few facts:
- Brigantine will not sell the golf course, only lease it.
- The city borrowed for the original purchase
- Brigantine will own the course free and clear in four years
- Interested parties are bidding on 24 year operating lease
- At one time, course had made $2 million in one year
- For 2013, the Links struggled to reach $930,000 in revenue.
Proposals are due to the city by Sept. 25, with Nov. 3 being the date that will start potential negotiations with selected bidders.
The City is not obligated to accept any proposal for leasing the course.
If successful, the winning bidder would start running the course on Jan. 1, 2015.
While there was a slight bump in revenue for 2014 over 2013, that increase comes off a bad, hurricane related year. A much more accurate way of looking at the Golf course profitability: over past 5 years, the course has continued a steady revenue decline.
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