Shadow Ridge going nowhere
Rob Gibson - Aug 03, 2022 - Biz Releases

Photo: Contributed

A Kelowna golf course says it has suffered a loss in business since it was announced the land under it was sold to the City of Kelowna.

Shadow Ridge Golf Course was purchased by the City of Kelowna in 2016 for $5.4 million to make way for the eventual expansion of Kelowna International Airport.

Here we are six years later, and the course is still operating. In fact, new operator Monaghan Golf Inc. signed another five-year lease extension in 2021 after airport expansion plans were delayed by the pandemic.

“We wish to refute the notion that Shadow Ridge is going anywhere,” said Tom Monaghan, president of Monaghan Golf.

“Due to public misunderstanding over the status of Shadow Ridge as an airport asset, and many articles published online which reflect that readers think Shadow Ridge has already been appropriated by the airport, we have suffered from diminished public reputation and a decline in playership.”

The issue of the loss of Kelowna’s golf courses has become an election issue, with mayoral candidate Tom Dyas pledging to fight to stop the redevelopment of Kelowna Springs. Michaelbrook Golf Course has been caught up in similar discussions since the city designated its land for ball fields, but it declared last week it has no plans to sell.

Monaghan says his company has plans for improvements at Shadow Ridge after signing the five-year deal with the city last year.

“We’re golf people. We know if the greens, tee boxes and fairways are good, you’re gonna get people coming back. That’s where we’re focusing a lot of our efforts right now,” Monaghan said.

He said they are also working with the City of Kelowna on long-term plans alongside the airport expansion.

“We’re confident that it’s going to be a golf course when we get to the end of the five-year lease and sit down with the people at the airport and talk about what comes next,” Monaghan said. “It’s an important piece. There’s not a lot of walkable golf courses in Kelowna at this price.

“The message that we’re getting out now is that it’s going to be a golf course for a long time. Nothing is imminent.”


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