Gurnee’s Bittersweet Golf Club finances on upswing
Finances are on the upswing at Bittersweet Golf Club in Gurnee, according to a recent presentation given to the village board.
Timothy J. Miles, president and chief executive officer of GolfVisions Management Inc., said the village-owned Bittersweet Golf Club ended the 2013 season in the black by $160,000. It was the first year Bittersweet was managed by GolfVisions.
Gurnee Mayor Kristina Kovarik said she was “tickled pink” after hearing the long-struggling course did not lose money.
“I think it is very momentous, because in the history of the golf course, it’s the first time we’ve had good news,” Kovarik said.
More than $525,000 in public money went toward village government taking over Bittersweet two years after it fell into foreclosure in 2009. Bittersweet is on a 240-acre site near Almond Road and Grand Avenue, west of Gurnee Mills. In November 2012, village trustees awarded a five-year management contract to Mundelein-based GolfVisions.
Gurnee will pay $33,000 to GolfVisions in each of the first two years, then $36,000 annually for the last three years. GolfVisions has a chance to receive an incentive fee of 10 percent of gross revenue if it exceeds $900,000 in the first two years combined.
In addition, GolfVisions will receive 15 percent of the gross revenue if it eclipses $1 million annually for the last three years combined of the contract. Gurnee will pay the incentive fee only if there’s a profit, according to GolfVisions’ deal with the village.
Miles said GolfVisions fulfilled its commitments in the first year by not only turning around finances, but also making course alterations that included a second cut of rough next to fairways in an effort to prevent players from hitting out of tall grass if they are slightly off the mark.
“You can be proud of the facility you have now,” Miles said in his presentation to the village board. “The house is in order. We’re preparing for a successful 2014 season.”
Miles said Bittersweet’s financial performance was particularly gratifying in a year that was difficult on the golf industry overall. He said National Golf Foundation research shows the number of rounds played in the United States this year plunged 30 percent to 33 percent.
Gurnee formally took possession of the long-struggling links April 15, 2011. The village board voted to buy out the remaining 21 years on a lease held by First Merit Bank.
Bittersweet opened as a public-private venture in June 1996. It was supposed to share leftover profits with Gurnee, but officials said that never occurred.