Putting public credit behind a new clubhouse and hotel at Chambers Bay Golf Course smacks of doubling down before all the cards are dealt.
The payoff could be huge, but so could the risk.
KemperSports Management, which manages the year-old Chambers Bay course for the county, argues the benefit side, pointing to its profitable operation of similar amenities at the Bandon Dunes course in Oregon.
Now the company, which is negotiating with Pierce County to build the clubhouse and lodging, is proposing to cut the public in on a piece of the action in exchange for a one-third contribution and access to rock-bottom government lending rates.
But for Pierce County taxpayers and sewer rate payers who are waiting to see their last gamble – the $21 million construction of the golf course – pay off, Kemper’s proposal may turn out to be one bet too many.
Chambers Bay is every bit the world-class course that Bandon Dunes is, but it is not Bandon Dunes. Here, golfers have other high-end eating and lodging options nearby.
The clubhouse and hotel might still prove to be a smart investment. Already, the tiny restaurant in the course’s temporary club house is a success, generating double its projected revenues. But the question is whether they are the right investment for public dollars.
There is a reason that lenders charge commercial clients high interest rates for hotel projects: They are risky. It’s one thing for the private sector to wager its own money that Chambers Bay hype will translate into profits. It’s quite another for public officials to put taxpayers on the line.
Back in 1982, the Tacoma City Council bet big on the downtown Sheraton, loaning its builders $4.5 million. The move eventually paid off, but it took nearly 25 years and a $5 million bailout to save the hotel from bankruptcy.
County taxpayers and sewer rate payers are already on the hook for a golf course that has so far struggled to make budget. Exposing them to additional liability without solid justification is likely to spark a revolt.
Chambers Bay is undoubtedly a business venture, but one with a public purpose: To underwrite public park development on the rest of the 933-acre site. Should the course prove anywhere near the success that county officials predict, it will accomplish that goal.
Pierce County officials should proceed carefully. They will have to make a case for why taxpayers shouldn’t leave the pursuit of bigger profits – and the assumption of greater risk – to private investors.
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