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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah golfers will soon lose their chance to practice their swing while airplanes soar overhead.
Wingpointe Golf Course, located next to Salt Lake City International Airport, is next on the city's closure list. It will cease operation in November.
When Salt Lake resident and golfer Jon Cronk heard Thursday that Wingpointe would be closing in a matter of months, he said he was disappointed to lose one of his favorite golf courses.
"It's sad when any course closes, but Wingpointe is really unique," Cronk said, referring to the course's sprawling Scottish style and challenging wind exposure. "We really don't have another one like that around here. It's true golf. … And who doesn't like to see an airplane fly right over their head when they're golfing?"
With the approval of the city's 2015-16 budget, the Salt Lake City Council solidified the transfer of Wingpointe's land to the airport. After considering whether it would make fiscal sense to continue operating Wingpointe as a revenue producer, the airport's board of directors decided to close the course at the end of the season.
Gates are tentatively scheduled to shut Nov. 1, but that could change depending on weather and its impact on the season, said airport spokeswoman Bianca Shreeve. However, it is certain that Wingpointe Golf Course will close by the end of the November.
"Get your chance to golf under the planes now," Shreeve said.
Wingpointe is the second of three Salt Lake golf courses slated to close due to the city's struggling golf program, which has racked up more than $800,000 in operating deficits and needs more than $20 million in upgrades over the next 10 to 15 years.
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The Salt Lake City Mayor's Office is in its final stages of drafting a plan to overhaul the city's recreational assets. The initiative includes repurposing the Glendale course, transferring the Wingpointe course under Salt Lake City International Airport domain, and shutting down the Jordan River Par-3.It follows the Jordan River Par 3, which closed last year. Next is Glendale, which will remain open until new space uses are determined for the land. Last week, Mayor Ralph Becker announced official recommendations to repurpose the land, along with Jordan River Par 3, for other outdoor recreation uses.
Salt Lake City Councilman James Rogers said while both Rose Park and Wingpointe courses have been functioning with deficits, it was clear to him which course to close because residents expressed concerns about losing a neighborhood course rather than the course next to the airport.
"It's been basically a no-brainer from my standpoint for which golf course to protect because of the impact that it does not have on the residents of District 1," Rogers said.
The airport's board of directors entertained the idea of keeping the course open as a revenue source, but Federal Aviation Administration requirements make that unfeasible, Shreeve said. The FAA would require the golf system to be leased at fair market value, which would be roughly $700,000 per year, whereas the city had previously paid only $1 per year to lease Wingpointe's land.
We're still in the process of understanding what uses it could have for the long term and short term. Once we have a better sense of our plans, we'll make sure to inform the community.
–Bianca Shreeve
What will eventually happen to the course's green space is still undecided, Shreeve said, but it's in the process of being rezoned from open space to airport use.
Rogers said airport officials have until spring to figure out what to do with the land.
"It could entail almost anything," he said, adding that he's seen plans including a convention center, as well as parking lots for airport employees and construction crews working on airport expansion. "There are lots of different ideas."
In the meantime, Rogers said the golf course's vegetation will not be maintained and will grow to a natural state.
While Rogers said "there will always be some sort of green space" in the wetlands area, Shreeve said "it's hard to say" what land will remain green space or be paved over.
"We're still in the process of understanding what uses it could have for the long term and short term," Shreeve said. "Once we have a better sense of our plans, we'll make sure to inform the community."
