CASSELBERRY, Fla. — Casselberry city leaders approved spending more than $2 million to buy a struggling golf course on Monday evening.
The move comes after a consulting firm told the city it would lose money if it buys and operates the Casselberry Golf Club.
"(It's) definitely a decent driving range. (It's) raining today, but it's usually full of people here," said Dan Koterba, who was hitting balls at the course's driving range.
A report shows that revenue at the golf course has declined for at least the past four years, and it is costing more to operate the course.
Photos: Casselberry Golf Club
On Monday night, city leaders talked about buying the 18-hole golf course for $2.2 million and later approved the purchase during a vote.
Some nearby homeowners said they are concerned that if the course closed, it would hurt property values and the city would lose an asset.
The course has been around for nearly 70 years.
"I would agree with that. We all play, many of us that live here play, otherwise we've got to go and pay more, so it's worth it for the majority of people that live here," said Koterba.
Channel 9's Julie Salomone went through city documents that show a report from a consulting firm stating if the city bought the course, it shouldn't expect to make a profit unless significant upgrades were made.
The report shows that in just a 10-mile radius of the Casselberry Golf Club, there are already a handful of courses that have closed.
Area resident Karyn Thimmes doesn't want to see the course developed into more homes.
"There's a lot of people that have bought in this area for the golf course, so it would be a real shame to see it go," Thimmes said.
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