THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 7, 1996 TAG: 9608070003
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: 34 lines
If all goes well, Virginia Beach could have its first golf links by 1999.
Sure, the city is home to 14 golf courses, but golf links, ``a chain of grass-covered sand dunes, linked to the sea,'' are in short supply in the city that dreams of someday being an East Coast golf mecca.
That dream seems a little closer to coming true thanks to the U.S. Army. The military is planning an innovative public-private partnership to build a championship golf course at Fort Story, with several holes actually meeting the U.S. Golf Association's strict definition of golf links.
In the next six months the Army will be seeking bids from private golf-course developers to build an 18-hole course along the ocean and through the hilly terrain. Eager developers from around the country are already making inquiries.
This public/private enterprise would use no public money - the developer would pay to build and maintain the course, the Army would own the land and would contract for an equitable share of the profits. The Army would then earmark the money for the base's MWR (morale, welfare and recreation) account.
``Its a win-win situation,'' explained Bill Franssen, civilian director of the Army's personnel and community activities office at Fort Eustis.
The big winner in this equation would be Virginia Beach. Done properly, the new course would be a plum for the resort city: a golf course in one of the most unspoiled settings in the area. Revenues from sales taxes would flow to the city treasurer, and the course itself would be a big boost for tourism.
Virginia Beach has been afflicted with Myrtle Beach envy for many years. Although the South Carolina golf destination has nearly 100 golf courses, it is hard to imagine it has a location as wildly beautiful as Fort Story's. by CNB