Raleigh, N.C.-based McConnell Golf purchased the 120-year-old property after members voted 222-96 in favor of the sale.
Members of The Country Club of Asheville (N.C.), the oldest private golf club in the state, voted to approve its sale to John McConnell, president and owner of Raleigh-based McConnell Golf, the Asheville-based Citizen-Times reported.
By a 222-96 margin, members of the 120-year-old Country Club of Asheville agreed to become the 10th club owned by McConnell, said club president Ralph Damato.
C&RB reported on the planned vote earlier this month (“Members to Vote on Sale of The Country Club of Asheville (N.C.) to McConnell Golf“).
“The members have spoken; this is what they wanted done—now we can move on,” said Damato, a member since 1998. “I’m glad it’s behind us. It was stressful for everybody. We can all look forward to the wonderful things that will be happening.”
Those “wonderful things” include a $4 million investment during the next three years for work including renovating the clubhouse, upgrading the greens and modernizing the entire facility, said McConnell from Raleigh, the Citizen-Times reported.
“But the overall plan is to protect the integrity of the golf course as Donald Ross first designed it,” McConnell said. Ross designed and built the course in 1928, the Citizen-Times reported.
McConnell said he wants to improve the course so it meets United States Golf Association standards. “It’s a great fit for the organization,” McConnell said. “I love the area and the city. The Country Club of Asheville has a very established, long-term track record and tenure. It has a good membership that we can grow.”
That should be good news for many of those who supported the sale, which is expected to close during the upcoming weeks, Damato said. Documents obtained by the Citizen-Times show club officials budgeted for fiscal year 2015 based on a total of “550 net members for the year,” according to Treasurer Mickey Dale.
That is lower than the 713 members listed on the club’s website—and represents a net loss of 12 members for the year, Dale wrote in his 2013-14 annual committee report. The decrease follows a net decrease of 42 members in 2014 and net decreases of 21, 13 and eight members in fiscal years 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively, the Citizen-Times reported.
In lieu of the sale’s approval, the board had proposed to its members an additional $50 per month tariff beginning January 1. Money raised from the tariff would have been used “to replace, repair and restore CCA facilities,” the documents said. Members also faced a 12-percent dues increase, on top of a 2-percent cost-of-living increase, to the $425 per month resident-member dues if the sale didn’t go through, the Citizen-Times reported.
“We expect a lot from him in next three years,” Damato said. “We really believe we’ll be one of the finest facilities in all of North Carolina, as are his other facilities. That’s the upside.”
McConnell will assume up to $2.3 million of club debt, according to the documents. The club must submit a $389,000 “balloon debt payment” in February 2015, according to the documents. “It does not have the capital funds to cover this payment,” the documents state.
McConnell also will spend an additional $150,000 each year for 10 years for capital improvements, the documents state. An appraisal of the club put the organization’s value “as an ongoing concern at $4.9 million,” the Citizen-Times reported.
Ken Kaplan, who opposed the sale and served as club treasurer for four years until 2012, called Wednesday’s vote unfortunate. But he, too, was glad the sale process was over, the Citizen-Times reported.
“It’s time for everyone to pull together as a membership and move on,” said Kaplan, who’s been a member since 2000. “We’re a community. I’m hopeful and optimistic that (McConnell) will seek input from members as he goes through the process to improve all aspects of the facility.”
McConnell said a membership at any one of his clubs offered the opportunity to play golf at a total of 10 clubs. And each member would be able to access other properties up to 12 times per year for free, be it for golf, tennis or the pool, the Citizen-Times reported.
“The vote was not unanimous by any means, but I think we’ll bring a lot of value within a year and people will see that this was the best decision the club has ever made,” McConnell said. “That’s what the goal would be.”
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