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Only one of the six companies that bid on Omaha's municipal golf courses would be willing to assume total control of golf course operations, as the city requested.
The other five bidders sought only to provide management assistance for the city courses, Steve Scarpello, Omaha parks administrator, said Friday.
Omaha officials now will focus on the single bid that met the criteria, Scarpello said.
“We have a lot of questions to ask that company,” he said, adding that city and company representatives would meet in the next few weeks.
Scarpello said it's too soon to tell whether the city would enter into negotiations with the company, which Scarpello declined to name.
Joe Engle, president of the Omaha Public Golfers Association, said the company was Landscapes Golf Group of Lincoln.
Landscapes oversees courses such as the Players Club at Deer Creek and Pacific Springs in Omaha, as well as the Shoreline in Carter Lake.
The company has shown an interest in the city courses since last fall, Engle said. A company representative, he said, attended an association meeting in October to learn more about course operations.
“They had called me several times, and (the company) sent me an e-mail this week,” Engle said.
Ultimately, any negotiated agreement would need to be approved by the Omaha City Council.
Landscapes' president Mike Jenkins declined to discuss his company's bid Friday.
However, Jenkins said the firm has a strong track record developing and overseeing golf courses.
Landscapes has experience with Omaha-area courses, he said, and several of its management staff work and live in Omaha.
“We feel like we have a pretty good feel for the (Omaha) market,” Jenkins said.
A consultant last fall recommended that Omaha see whether a private company would assume full operations of the seven municipal courses. That would take the financial risk of running the courses out of city hands.
The city's golf fund was more than $700,000 in the red through last year. The fund is supported by greens fees, golf cart and concession money.
The consultant cautioned that private companies might not be willing to assume all the financial risks involved with running the courses, pay for improvements and pay the city an annual contract fee.
The consultant also said simply having a company assist with course management would not save Omaha enough money.
Auditors have told the city that tax funds would be needed to shore up the courses if financial losses continued.
No matter what happens with the bids, the city still will own the courses. State law forbids cities from selling park land.
Contact the writer:
444-1149, tom.shaw@owh.com
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