Does the City need to be in the Golfing Business?

For my second installment on How to Improve Tucson, I'm going to begin by tipping a sacred cow... Tucson Municipal Golf! I understand the arguments in favor of municipal golf courses, and in some instances, I can see where those arguments are valid. In the case of Tucson, however, I feel that any assertion that we need to maintain the five courses already in the municipal system is flawed. Allow me to expound... oh, that's right, this is MY blog, so expound I will!

Recently, it has been reported that Tucson's municipal golf system is hemorrhaging money, so much, in fact, that there are plans to close the Fred Enke course. Perhaps the decision is due to lack of use, higher cost of maintenance, or the simple fact that it is on the 'Southside' of the City. If its just a matter of money... freeing up funds to keep the system open... then ANY of the courses could be closed, and the savings spread across the entire system. Close Fred Enke? Lets consider other options.

Unlike many other of the region's cities, Tucson has no core attractions aside from the Tucson Botanical Gardens. DeGrazia Gallery is 'north-ish', Pima Air and Space is more 'south-ish', Colossal Cave is far east, and the Arizona - Sonora Desert Museum and Old Tucson are far west. The Kino Sports Complex... soon to be little used with the sale of the Tucson Padres... was built near the Interstate with accessibility in mind. After all, its there for Spring Training, and those folks coming down from Phoenix need the Complex to be easily accessed... oh yeah, WHAT SPRING TRAINING?

I know, there are a number of fine museums near the U of A, and the Children's Museum is downtown, but as the city has grown, these attractions can hardly be considered 'core' attractions. "But, wait, Tucson Trooper, you forgot the Reid Park Zoo and the Rose Garden!" Au contraire, I saved them for last. They easily DO qualify as a core attraction, along with Hi Corbett Field, and I feel that they could become the seed from which something great can grow!

I know the history of the Randolph Golf Complex. It has long been considered the flagship of the Tucson Municipal Golf scene, and was originally set-up for PGA and LPGA tournaments, but these days are past. I contend that THIS is the course that should be considered for closing. Currently, the Zoo stands at roughly 17 acres, a small fraction of the open space. The park area... playgrounds, ramadas, duck ponds, etc... also take up a small fraction of space. The Rose Garden? minuscule.

The Hi Corbett complex is pretty substantial, and is finally being leased by the U of A for NCAA Baseball, but this is for a relatively brief time throughout the year, and thanks to the way the city handled THIS situation, the Toros are a thing of the past. Then there is the Randolph Golf Complex... fully two-thirds of the available space (including the Tennis Complex) that, in my opinion, could be better used as a true, Tucson core attraction!

Imagine it... Open spaces with more park facilities, museums (from the U of A, perhaps... freeing up space for their own campus expansion plans?), a further expanded Tucson Zoo, and perhaps even re-locate the Children's Museum... after all, while they have a great, historic site downtown, there is NO possibility for them to expand, something that they may need to consider for future viability. Surround the property with a really cool, quaint transportation system courtesy of the Old Pueblo Trolley, whose ability to operate their historic people movers on 4th Ave. are forever terminated since the establishment of our soon to be completed Modern Trolley... another short-sighted decision by our waffling City Council.

Such a complex would be neighborhood friendly, would, in the long-run, generate capital, and could be touted as a tourism linchpin for our community. Had such a plan been implemented some time back (perhaps after the loss of the PING - Welch's LPGA event?) it could have resulted in a developmental 'shot in the arm' for the old El Con Mall complex... perhaps along the lines of La Encantada... when the real estate market was still booming. Other nearby facilities could be encouraged to operate satellite attractions here... imagine Tucson Botanical Gardens having a BIG garden on-site, while their current location could be used for their administrative offices, educational facilities, and a growing site for new garden development.

And what about the once promised aquarium downtown? (I know, Mr. and Mrs. Grammar Persons, I started the last sentence with a preposition... it's my Blog and I'll mess it up if I want to!) This bait and switch pawn, used to get a YES vote from city residents for the Rio Nuevo boondoggle, could be built here as a joint Tucson Zoo / ASDM attraction, and the other Rio Nuevo Pawn, the U of A Science Center, would be at home here too!

Such a complex would presumably be safe... given the proximity of the William K. Hardesty Police Station on the SE corner of the property... and the ample open properties at Alvernon and 22nd and other surrounding areas, would quickly become sites for lodging, dining, and shopping. There are nearby access points to Aviation Parkway, and as anyone can tell you, 22nd Street is an easily traversed route from I-10. Then, if we can get the powers-that-be to think outside the box, a Modern Trolley connection to this site could be affected.

Now, the big questions... should we do it? Is it worth it? Can it be accomplished, given the City's track record with Rio Nuevo? Am I missing a part of this picture? Will the Golf Mafia send me a bucket of balls? Will the nearby Neighborhood Associations brand me a trouble maker? This is where you, the readers, have a voice. PLEASE feel free to comment on this posting, forward it to your friends, enemies, neighbors, and elected officials! If any of you are personal friends with our local talk-radio personalities, encourage them to log-on, if only for a laugh!

I'm not trying to get rich or famous. I don't want anything to do with county or city politics. I just want to see our city improve...

So let's get started!