City of Winnipeg wants to take a swing at running Canoe Club Golf Course itself

A report recommends that the City of Winnipeg take over operations at the Canoe Club Golf Course, after the operators fell behind on property taxes and rent payments and the course fell into disrepair. 

City of Winnipeg golf services manager Ben Fey says conditions and service levels at the Dunkirk Drive course, in the city's southeast, have declined significantly. Last season, city staff found areas where grass had not been cut and problems with the irrigation system, he said.

"Specifically related to the turf, the tees, the fairways, the greens, there are issues with the irrigation system out there, so the golf course wasn't being watered properly or as often as it needed to be," Fey said in an interview.

A report to the city's property and development committee says the lease agreement with the current tenant, B.S.E. Limited, expired in November 2022. Since then, B.S.E. has operated the course on a year-to-year basis.

Property taxes for 2023 and 2024 have not been paid, nor has the 2024 rent, the report says.

The irrigation system and golf turf need immediate repairs, which the city estimates will cost $60,000. 

Staff at the golf course could not be reached for comment Friday.

The report lays out a variety of options for the city, including taking over operations itself, or finding a new third-party tenant to run the course. 

"The previous lease generated revenue of approximately $45,000 or less between base rent and taxes. It is expected that a new operator would pay less than $45,000 in order to run a financially productive course at the city's expected standard," Fey wrote in the report.

Allowing the land to go fallow would cost the city an estimated $214,500 in maintenance costs, according to the report, and repurposing the property would require an unspecified and unbudgeted amount.

Operating the golf course internally was deemed the best option, the report says. Based on an estimate of 20,000 rounds of golf in 2025, the city could expect to bring in $614,000 in gross revenue, which would offset expenses of $539,000, giving it a surplus of about $75,000. 

"We feel that the City of Winnipeg golf course staff can assume operations at this site," Fey said.

"We have a knowledge base of what the issues are, and the resources to fix it and restore the playing conditions and provide a better overall golf experience for the customer."

Coun. Evan Duncan, chair of the property committee, told CBC News he worries if the city lets it deteriorate further, it might become unusable as a golf course.

"At some point in time, we gotta draw a line in the sand here and say we have expectations, especially when we're talking about leased property from the city," Duncan said.

A chance for profit

The city has seen a spike in interest in its golf courses recently, making them more financially viable to operate, Fey said.

Duncan says if the city can make money running the course itself, that option makes sense.

"Households are facing tough times as well with finances. So if we have an opportunity to generate revenue, we gotta take advantage of it. And if it's 75,000 bucks, we'll take it," the Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood councillor said.

Fey says if the city takes over operations, it would roll out a promotion strategy to let people know about the change in management at the golf course and the improvements they intend to make.

He expects the course will be ready to open for the 2025 season.

The plan will go before the property and development committee next Thursday.

The city currently operates three golf courses: Crescent Drive, Kildonan Park and Windsor Park.

It leases the Assiniboine, Tuxedo, Transcona, Wildewood, St. Boniface and Rossmere golf courses, while Jon Blumberg and Harbour View golf courses are under management agreements.