University of Maryland considers getting rid of golf course and going for the green"

[Kari]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/university-of-maryland-is-mere
ly-going-for-the-green-if-it-gets-rid-of-golf-course/2013/09/05/a91bf930-162
f-11e3-be6e-dc6ae8a5b3a8_story.html

If you haven’t seen it yet, FYI.


Tracee Hamilton <http://www.washingtonpost.com/2011/02/24/ABDH0yI_page.html>
Columnist
University of Maryland considers getting rid of golf course and going for
the green

<http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/milestones-in-marylands-acc-history/20
12/11/20/4ecde7b2-3346-11e2-bfd5-e202b6d7b501_gallery.html>
View Photo Gallery — Milestones in Maryland’s ACC history: For nearly 60
years, the athletic teams of the University of Maryland have competed in the
Atlantic Coast Conference. But beginning with the 2014-15 school year, the
Terrapins will compete in the Big Ten conference. Here is a look at the
school’s athletic history.
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/milestones-in-marylands-acc-history/20
12/11/20/4ecde7b2-3346-11e2-bfd5-e202b6d7b501_gallery.html>
By Tracee Hamilton
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/2011/02/24/ABDH0yI_page.html> , E-mail the
writer
A developer is eyeing the University of Maryland
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/terrapins-insider/> golf course — and
not with the idea of making up part of a foursome. The university is batting
its lashes and entertaining the idea of turning the course into something
other than all that pesky, wasted green space.
Why? Both sides will claim the development will ease traffic in College
Park, especially on perpetually gridlocked Route 1. But the real answer, as
it often is, will be money.

<http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/college-park-reacts-to-marylands-sudde
n-move-to-the-big-ten/2012/11/20/e8d875a6-3293-11e2-bb9b-288a310849ee_video.
html>
Students are shocked after university President Dr. Wallace D. Loh announced
Monday that the Terrapins will join the Big Ten in 2014. After nearly 60
years, Maryland will leave the Atlantic Coast Conference , a conference it
helped establish.
Terrapins Insider <http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/terrapins-insider/>
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/terrapins-insider/>
All the latest University of Maryland athletics news, notes and insight from
Post reporter Alex Prewitt.
A mixed-use development that includes a direct route between Interstate 95
and campus would cost an estimated $100 million. Maryland can’t sell the
land, but it can offer a long-term lease to a potential developer, in this
case Greenberg Gibbons.
And of course, Maryland needs money
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/maryland-athletics-financial-
woes-reveal-a-broken-college-sports-revenue-model/2012/06/28/gJQAmEvx9V_stor
y.html> . But the flat-broke athletic department won’t get that money; the
course is administered by the school’s Office of the Vice President for
Student Affairs. So the money would go directly to the university.
Some might wonder what the loss of one golf course really means in the
current economic climate. There are plenty of courses in this area, although
not all of them are open to the public. Maryland’s course is a mixed bag: It
has members, but it is also open to the public.
So does the University of Maryland need a golf course? After all, not every
university has its own — except that in the fabulous Big Ten, every member
school except Northwestern does have its own. Ohio State has two. Michigan’s
athletic department just received a $100 million gift that will help pay for
$18 million in renovations to its golf facilities.
Why should that matter? Because Maryland rushed into the arms of the B1G
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/maryland-to-big-ten-its-money
-versus-tradition/2012/12/11/3c5da16c-3fd0-11e2-ae43-cf491b837f7b_story.html
> , and its schools are the ones Maryland wants to compete against —
academically, athletically, aesthetically. Getting rid of its course would
seem like a step backward in that attempt.
Maryland President Wallace D. Loh, who engineered the school’s move to the
B1G with a breathtaking lack of transparency, has met with Brian Gibbons,
chief executive of Greenberg Gibbons (and a Maryland graduate). Gibbons has
also personally briefed state and local officials and members of the Board
of Regents. This seems like more than an “unsolicited proposal,” as Loh
called it in a July 8 letter to Gibbons. Loh cautioned that such a proposal
would face public hearings, but if the deal already has been struck behind
the scenes, such meetings would be mostly for show.
The apparently nonexistent proposal is being taken seriously by the Maryland
Golf Course Coalition, which is fighting the idea. The golf course isn’t
without problems. It closed for a year for renovations and is trying to
rebuild its membership to about 250 members. The course makes money, so it’s
not a drain on university finances — but it still has to service the debt
incurred by the renovation.
If we want the discussion to center around money, there is this: The course
hosts roughly 70 fundraising and charity events a year; many raise money for
university programs and scholarships. Some of the benefactors of those
events are non-revenue sports at Maryland, the ones that haven’t been
eliminated already
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/maryland-accepts-recommendation-will-c
ut-eight-varsity-sports-programs/2011/11/21/gIQAyn1NjN_story.html> .
Considering the athletic department’s precarious financial health, perhaps
that particular revenue stream should remain open.
But beyond economics, the course is one of only a few true, open green
spaces on Maryland’s campus. Lose those 150 acres, and Maryland is just
another concrete jungle of higher learning. Lose that green space, and it
will never come back. Joni Mitchell never sang, “They unpaved paradise and
tore down a parking lot.”
Since 2003, the Maryland course has been designated a Certified Audubon
Cooperative Sanctuary by Audubon International. Just 14 courses in the state
of Maryland have the Audubon seal of approval, which is based on factors
such as water conservation, reduction of chemical use and wildlife
habitation.
So, yes, traffic around the College Park campus is a nightmare, but the
answer is not to eliminate the golf course. A new traffic spur might help
congestion, but the development, which would include businesses and
residences, might add to it.
Only one thing is certain: Land is not a renewable commodity. Mark Twain is
credited with saying: “Buy land. They’re not making it anymore.” If he didn’
t say it, he should have because it’s true.
For more by Tracee Hamilton, visit washingtonpost.com/hamilton
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/2011/02/24/ABDH0yI_page.html> .