Municipal course called a gamble

Jeffrey Libby

Monday, Jan. 6, 2003 | 11:08 a.m.

Standing among the 18 fairways that wind through 450 acres of arroyos, wildflowers and man-made lakes, Boulder City Councilman Bryan Nix is just a four-minute dash from his home.

But considering the silence, he could be in the middle of nowhere.

"Listen for a second," says Nix, who led the drive to bring a second municipal golf course to this town of 15,000. "I mean, the quiet alone is almost worth it. Just to come out here."

And for the moment, it's true: The silence of the Eldorado Valley is the loudest thing around.

But the perfect manicured setting contains at least a hint of risk.

Though the course technically has a municipal mission -- built with residents' tax dollars for residents' use -- resort standards prevail. From the 100-inch hideaway TV in the clubhouse to the artificial, rock-lined creeks to the golf carts programmed to ask about lunch, Boulder Creek Golf Club is looking to compete with the big Las Vegas Valley courses. Close to 80 percent of golfers are projected to arrive from Las Vegas, most driving their own cars past dozens of courses in the valley. The city expects many more to arrive on junkets from out of state.

It's a gamble, critics say, considering the nearly $19 million price tag by the time the project is completed.

But if those seem like long odds, the new course appears to be the city's best bet for keeping up with payments on a $74 million water pipeline from Lake Mead constructed this summer. Of three major projects said to make the pipeline necessary -- and feasible -- only the municipal golf course has been built. A private golf course and a power plant in planning stages since the late 1990s have yet to break ground.

Former Councilman Bill Smith, who opposed the golf course as far back as 1997, says the city should leave gambling on discretionary markets like golf, which no one has to play, to private businesses.

"The only reason they built it is as an investment," Smith said. "And my feeling is, you don't speculate with public money because there's absolutely no guarantee that golf course is going to make money."

After all, there's nothing established about municipal courses in Southern Nevada. The much more populous city of Henderson has yet to build any. North Las Vegas has one.

Las Vegas has four municipal courses.

As of Saturday, Boulder City has two.

Smith pointed to the example of Red Ridge Golf, a private course that has been planned since 1998 for the foothills north of town, but which has had trouble securing financing and has yet to break ground.

Hugh Jefferies, a Red Ridge partner, said Friday that the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks slowed his company's progress, but said he is still negotiating the lease of city land.

"Right now the market is not good, but that will change. We expect it to turn around," Jefferies said.

City officials are still bullish on Boulder Creek, though projected profits are based largely on a 2000 study by Los Angeles-based Economics Research Associates. That study said an 18-hole course could bring the city $800,000 annually.

Nix predicts closer to $1 million annually once all 27 holes are up and running. A driving range, restaurant and bar, and an events center with seating for 450 will also boost income, city officials say.

The course also creates a much-needed water customer to help pay off bonds sold for the pipeline. With all 36 holes operating, city officials estimate that the course will buy about 1,650 acre-feet of water annually, worth about $592,000.

The city was banking on another 900 acre-feet going to Red Ridge by last year, and upped projections to 1,800 acre-feet after developers increased their proposal from 18 to 27 holes.

In an October 2000 study, the city also planned on Park Place Entertainment buying another 900 acre-feet for a second golf course by 2005 and Eldorado Energy doubling its useage to 1,200 acre-feet annually by 2010. So far, none of the projects have broken ground.

To pay off the pipeline, the city needs to come up with roughly $2.5 million each year for 30 years.

Neil Siniakin, a Boulder City resident who follows city government, said he is concerned about the city's reliance on the future projects.

"If the projects don't come through and the money isn't there, I'm concerned that debt service could become a burden to the city," Siniakin said.

On Saturday at Boulder Creek, 18 holes officially opened for play, with about 70 players on the course by 11 a.m.

Nine more holes are scheduled to open in late summer and a par-3 course with lighting for night play is scheduled to open by early 2004. That course will be built on city land leased to Triad Golf, the company operating the course for the city.

The whole project is estimated to cost $18.7 million, with $8.7 million coming from the city's utility fund and the rest through bond sales. City officials are talking about selling 60 half-acre custom home lots bordering the course, but that would require voter approval.

Eighty-six-year-old Homer Pattie, a 21-handicap, said he shot a 95 for his first round Saturday.

"You've got to keep it straight or you get in trouble," he said. "But those bunkers are beautiful. They're almost a pleasure to get into. The sand is so loose."

James "Skogie" Lenon described his first round as "a pick-up, a pick-up, a pick-up," explaining that after eight strokes per hole, he picked up his ball and walked to the next tee whether he'd holed the ball or not.

"The duffer might find the (other) muni a little easier to play," he said, referring to the course across town, built in the early 1980s. "This is a good, strong, challenging course."

Prices are also higher. A round with a cart at the new course costs a Boulder City resident from $55 to $65. The old course charges $26. At the new course, Clark County residents pay from $75 to $85 for a round. Out-of-towners, referred to as resort guests, pay from $115 to $140.

City officials are betting that those rates and the course amenities will lure golfers to drive the 20 miles from Las Vegas to Boulder City.

Smith, however, remains skeptical. "Two years from now we'll talk again and we'll see how much money they've made," he said. "It will be interesting to see."

But if Nix is right, and Las Vegas golfers opt for the pristine quiet, straying from other valley courses -- many of them tucked among housing tracts, air and street traffic -- Boulder City may have found a way to have its peace and quiet and sell it, too.

Pattie, who retired here 23 years ago, can already see the silent parade.

"Boulder Creek is the best thing that's ever happened to Boulder City," he said. "It's going to bring people in, but we'll still have our controlled growth."