Pending Board of Trustees approval, the University of West Florida’s nonprofit Business Enterprises Inc., will purchase the Pensacola, Fla., club for inclusion in the university’s athletic and academic programs.
Scenic Hills Country Club, a newly renovated, 18-hole golf course, is on the brink of being purchased by the University of West Florida’s (UWF) newly formed nonprofit, Business Enterprises Inc. (BEI), the Pensacola News Journal reports.
One more step stands in the way of the purchase of the Pensacola, Fla., club, after the board that oversees BEI approved the purchase from Meadowbrook Golf, Inc. The final step is up to the UWF’s Board of Trustees, which will be considered June 14.
The cost of buying the course has not been released, but officials project the course will turn a profit within its first year of operation. If approved, BEI will purchase the course by July 1.
“We’re still going through due diligence,” Matt Altier, Vice President of Administrative Services at UWF, and CEO of BEI, said. “Half of the costs will be financed [by a loan] and the other half is going to come from BEI cash. No money at all is coming from the state, tax dollars or student tuition.”
The course would be incorporated into the university’s athletic and academic programs.
“We will continue to operate it as a very high-qualified, first-class country club,” Altier said. “We want our students to learn from the very best. We have an opportunity to reach a large audience, not only with our current students, but with our 80,000 alumni.”
Some Board of Trustees members are concerned about the cost of the course and whether it will put the university in a financial bind.
Altier predicts that BEI will oversee additional businesses as an opportunity to create new revenue for the university, in the wake of decreased state money for higher education.
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