The owner of Centennial Golf Course is hoping the city elects to sell at least one of its municipally owned courses, saying it should make life easier for Thunder Bay’s private operators.
Bob Polischuk, whose course is facing $70,556 in tax arrears owed to the City of Thunder Bay, said golf’s demographics have changed since he first purchased the Thompson Road course in 1985 with father-in-law Lee Fogolin Sr.
But despite a steady drop in traffic with the downturn of the economy, he still plans to make a go of the business until he can find an owner to take over and possibly complete expansion plans Polischuck started several years ago, but hasn’t been able to continue.
“The city shouldn’t be continuing with the extensive subsidies of all (its) courses. Every dollar spent somewhere else affects you. It’s like the cross-border shopping. It’s the same concept,” he said, firmly denying he was one of the two courses mentioned in a recent consultant’s report to city council and administration that said two private courses in the city could be out of business in the next couple of years.
“Well, no, we’re certainly not. We’ve made provisions for our tax arrears and this year we’ve become more aggressive with our service to the people,” said Polischuk, who intends to use price point as his main drawing factor this spring to compete with the city’s other private and public courses.
The city’s three golf courses – Municipal, Chapples and Strathcona – are expected to lose between $400,000 and $700,000 a year, according the City of Thunder Bay’s golf service review report.
A present, including Centennial, there are six nine-hole courses in the area that serve the same niche market as Municipal. Closing it could save the city about $50,000 a year in operating and $46,000 a year in capital expenses. Shutting it and Strathcona ups the savings to $191,000 and $138,000 each year respectively.
Ideally Polischuk said he’d like the city to consider the second option, leaving Chapples as is to draw tourists from out of town.
In recent months other course owners, including Northern Lights’ Gerald Breukelman and Dragon Hills’ Mike Komar have also supported the sale of at least one, if not more, city courses.
The report goes on to say use of the city courses have dropped 22 per cent from 2004 to 2010, corresponding with continued price increases for both memberships and green fees.
“In Thunder Bay, supply is greater than demand. Using national statistics, there are two more courses in Thunder Bay than required, based on current demand,” the report states.
“Where the city is subsidizing the operation and/or capital investment in its golf courses, private golf course owners, who cannot draw from similar cash resources, are at a disadvantage against the city.”
A recommendation is expected to come before council on April 30.
