ASHEVILLE, N.C. — A 10-year lease agreement with Pope Golf, the company responsible for daily operations and maintenance of the historic Asheville Municipal Golf Course, has resulted in steadily degrading course conditions and $324,934 in outstanding lease payments to the city, according to public records obtained by the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network.
A June 29 letter from the city attorney’s office to Keith Pope, CEO of Pope Golf, based in Sarasota, Florida, advised that the city intended to initiate litigation over the past due lease payments, some of which have been accumulating since 2016.
Chris Corl, the city’s director of Community and Regional Entertainment Facilities, said Aug. 25 the legal department is in communication with Pope’s attorney, and no lawsuit has yet been filed.
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He hopes the issue will be resolved out of court.
“I would say we are working collaboratively to resolve the situation and to find the right solution between us and Pope Golf for past due payments,” Corl said.
Pope did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The city’s management and lease agreement with Pope Golf began Oct. 1, 2012, and expires Sept. 30.
“I would say it was mutual to not extend with them,” Corl told the Citizen Times.
Asheville City Council has already approved a license and management agreement with a new operator, Commonwealth Golf Partners II – Asheville LLC, which will begin Oct. 1.
For the past 10 years, the responsibility of maintenance, improvements and general upkeep of the course fell to Pope Golf.
The first public golf course in North Carolina and the first to be integrated in the Southeast, the Asheville Municipal Golf Course is the last remaining affordable public fee course in Asheville, said Corl.
The 18-hole golf course was designed by Hall of Fame golf architect Donald Ross and opened for play in 1927. It is home to the longest-running Black-owned and operated professional tournament in the country.
While Corl said Pope Golf made some improvements since 2012, “there are also a great number of areas that have declined since they took over.”
He acknowledged the course is in “poor condition,” with infrastructure needs that range from stormwater repairs, tee box upgrades and green and sand improvements.
The city is embarking on an about $2.5 million project to initiate these capital improvements…
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