By recapitalizing with Concert Golf, the Augusta, Ga., property plans to expand the banquet hall, improve the pool and tennis complex, and add casual dining options.
West Lake Country Club in Augusta, Ga., has liquidated long-standing club debt, frozen dues, and barred any future assessments on the membership by recapitalizing with Concert Golf. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
In late April, Concert Golf undertook $1.5 million in capital projects at West Lake CC, including an expanded driving range and short game practice area; banquet hall expansion to seat 250-plus; pool and tennis complex improvements; and added casual dining options for members.
West Lake CC, which opened in 1969 and was acquired by the membership in 1977, ran into challenges following a $6 million clubhouse renovation undertaken in 2006. The club attempted to finance this project via bank loans and, ultimately, a series of four assessments. A recession took hold, some members left, dues were raised, and yet the debt remained.
According to West Lake CC President Marvin Brown, his membership could see this prospective scenario coming down the pike. West Lake members also saw neighboring clubs doing more than $1.5 million in revenues during a typical Masters Week—hosting visiting golfers at high rates and entertaining corporate events.
Instead of taking out more loans and attempting further assessments, it conducted a comparison of potential investor-operators this winter. In April, Concert Golf was chosen from three finalists by a unanimous vote of the Board. This recommendation was then ratified by a unanimous vote of the entire membership. A banquet facility expansion sits atop Concert’s to-do list.
“If we had it to do over again, we would have partnered with Concert Golf back in 2006, when we first tried to self-fund all of this,” said Michael Sommers, prior Board President at West Lake. “Our dues are frozen now, with a written guarantee of no more assessments ever again. We already have lots of former members—who left the club in the last few years due to the uncertainty—asking if they can come back to West Lake.”
“The West Lake Board presented us with a ready-made wish list of capital projects that needed doing, because club debt had made their execution impossible,” said Concert Golf CEO Peter Nanula. “That was clever and productive. Concert Golf will fund all of them in the next 12-24 months.”
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