The decision to sell the Salmon Arm Golf Club to a Canadian golf course consolidator was unanimously approved by club members.
GolfNorth Properties entered into an agreement to purchase the Salmon Arm Golf Club (SAGC) earlier this month. With the addition of SAGC, GolfNorth will operate 32 golf properties in Canada, from British Columbia to Cape Breton.
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“We are thrilled to be moving into British Columbia. Salmon Arm is a beautiful city and the largest urban center in the Shuswap,” said GolfNorth president and CEO Shawn Evans.
The membership of SAGC Society held a special meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 12, where the proposal to sell the property to GolfNorth was approved.
A spokesperson for the SAGC Society board of directors explained it was felt the arrangement would be the best way to guarantee the successful operation of golf course for many years to come.
In April 2019, the society announced its decision to put the 18-hole championship golf course and nine-hole heritage course up for sale. In a related media release, it was said the decision to sell the 90-year-old course, estimated to be worth more than $4 million, was based on several factors, including the recognition that “a volunteer-driven non-profit society was no longer easily sustainable given the continued downward trend in membership and current demographics.”
“The golf course industry as a whole has suffered since the 2008/2009 economic down turn, and this, coupled with other factors such as golf course overbuilding, aging demographics (and) lack of leisure time has caused SAGCS to transition from a member driven business model, to one with an emphasis on public play,” stated the release.
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“GolfNorth wishes to extend a warm welcome and thank you to the Salmon Arm board of directors for all their cooperation and hard work in putting this transaction together,” said Mike Garside, GolfNorth’s Chief Operating Officer. “We are incredibly excited to be expanding into B.C. and look forward to working with the key management team at SAGC.”
For further information about SAGC, as well as GolfNorth’s rates, you can visit golfnorth.ca.
@CameronJHT
Cameron.thomson@saobserver.net
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