SOUTH JORDAN, Utah -- To sell or not to sell? That was the question for the South Jordan Council when deciding what to do with the land that is home to Mulligans Golf and Games.
Now they’ve come up with a plan, but not everyone is happy. The land has been in limbo for more than a year.
"It’s been said that in life if you're not moving forward, you’re often moving backwards,” Mayor David Alvord said.
The mayor announced earlier this week that South Jordan finally has a plan to move forward. The announcement comes after residents voiced their disapproval of selling the Mulligans land for development and after a failed attempt to attract Hale Centre Theatre to build there.
The South Jordan Council has decided to give the open space some TLC.
“And so what we’ve decided to do is look at the areas of Mulligans that are most profitable and to maximize those areas,” Alvord said.
In 2015, the South Jordan Council voted to keep Mulligans as open space and paid off their $4.6 million bond balance. Since then, they've been working on a plan to make Mulligans profitable.
"One of the great reasons this has been attractive is that families can come here on a budget, it’s not an expensive place to come, it’s a good place to learn to golf,” Alvord said. “We want to maintain that spirit.”
The plan includes adding 18 holes to the miniature golf area, creating a two-sided driving range, refurbishing the existing holes, and adding a park by the river for families to enjoy. But fixing it up will come at a cost, and not everyone is convinced the plan is a good one.
“This plan is not financially feasible,” said Julie Holbrook, president of the group Save Mulligans. “It adds almost three times more debt onto Mulligans. The debt will now be close to $12 million. We don’t feel it will ever recover.”
Holbrook said she fears the remodel will make Mulligans a financial burden on the city.
“Mulligans will probably be sold, which was the original intent, and that’s why we’ve been so careful and so concerned that it be financially sustainable and viable, and we feel this plan is not,” she said.
Alvord stressed that taxpayer funds will not be used.
“Tax payer money will not be used for this facility,” he said. “We’re going to use existing revenues from golfers.”
South Jordan's next steps are getting official bids on their plans and taking public comment.
