Craig Ranch Golf Course acquired for $52 million

Tuesday, March 29, 2005 | 8:27 a.m.

North Las Vegas has acquired Craig Ranch Golf Course for $52 million and is moving ahead with plans to turn it into a regional park.

The city will use federal funds raised through the auctions of the Bureau of Land Management property to pay for the 135 acres and its water rights to the land. City officials are holding a news conference this afternoon at City Hall to announce the closing of the deal with Craig Ranch Golf Course LLC.

"This is a legacy project," said Mayor Mike Montandon who envisions a park visited by 2,000 to 3,000 people a day. "It will be like our Central Park in New York. When people leave it, I want them saying they love this town."

The city has yet to finalize any plans for the park's conversion from a golf course. The park is expected to have baseball and soccer fields and picnic areas. Montandon said it may also include an amphitheater or cultural arts facility on the property as well.

There will also be open space that will be left undisturbed at a park site that has 6,000 mature trees, two ponds and several miles of walking trails on what are now golf course cart paths, officials said.

The city is waiting for a $20 million in the BLM funds to pay for the conversion of the golf course. The city could expect the money within the next year, and Montandon said the conversion will start immediately after that. He said he hopes the park could be used in 18 months.

The land was appraised at $44 million and the water rights on the property from wells is worth another $8 million, officials said. With the improvements, the project will be worth about $72 million.

Montandon said there is no way the city could afford to duplicate such a park without the BLM funds. That's why it's critical the federal government not confiscate the money for its own use.

"I think 50 years from now people will look back on this and say 'how did you do this,' " Montandon said. "Without those funds, this project would never happen."

The city initially estimated the property was worth $35 million when it sought out the BLM funds but land value has shot up in the past two years, increasing the property's value as well, Montandon said. The owners of the property contend the property is worth $70 million today, but they are already locked into a deal with the city, he said.

The golf course has existed for more than 40 years, and Montandon said it's the place where many learned how to play golf. But he said if the city did not acquire the land, it was in danger of being sold for the low-density single-family development for which it is zoned.

Station Casinos had once planned to built a hotel on the land, but in March 2001 a state gaming review panel killed those plans based on state law that restricts construction of new casinos near residential neighborhoods.