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Consultants say Lake Chelan Golf Course needs major irrigation work; city told revenue alone likely won’t cover it
Summary
A National Golf Foundation presentation to Chelan officials flagged an aging irrigation system as the top capital need—an estimated ~$4 million line item within a $5.5M–$7M capital list—and recommended governance, pricing and marketing changes while warning interfund charges and rising expenses make funding the work from operations unlikely.
Richard Singer, representing the National Golf Foundation, told the City of Chelan’s parks board and council that the Lake Chelan Golf Course is an attractive community asset but faces aging infrastructure that will require significant capital investment.
Singer identified the irrigation system as the facility’s highest priority, saying the system "might be some $4,000,000" and describing irrigation as “mission critical” because failures affect course condition, staff workload and water-efficiency. The NGF’s draft findings put total high-priority capital needs at roughly "five and a half to more than $7,000,000," including irrigation, selected greens and tee-box work, drainage and parking improvements.
Why it matters: Singer said the course produced record revenue in 2025—about $1.77 million on roughly 29,000 rounds—but operating expenses and internal interfund charges have risen sharply. He told the council that interfund allocations budgeted at $327,000 in 2026 and an overall expected 2026 shortfall of about $700,000 mean the operation faces limited ability to self-fund an irrigation replacement. "There's no realistic pathway for using future revenue growth to fund a new irrigation system," Singer said.
Recommendations and options: NGF offered three governance approaches: maintain self-operation but change roles and staffing; hire a professional management company (Singer cited a typical management fee of about 5% of revenue, roughly $88,000–$90,000 annually for Chelan); or pursue a lease—but only if a private lessee brings capital for major upgrades, including irrigation. Singer urged a more businesslike approach—improving website/booking technology, marketing shoulder-season play, partnering with lodging providers, and expanding retail/merchandising—and suggested raising annual-pass pricing and cart fees to narrow discounting that reduces per-round revenue.
Financial context and projections: Singer presented scenarios indicating the course could approach $2 million in revenue within a few years if the city adopts multiple operational and capital changes. Even so, he said the combined pressure of higher maintenance costs, labor inflation and interfund charges means that operations alone are unlikely to produce the capital needed for the irrigation replacement without outside funding or a partner who would invest capital.
Next steps: Singer said a fuller written NGF report, then in draft, will be distributed to the city with detailed backup. Council and parks board members asked staff to place the report on a future agenda for further discussion and possible follow-up steps on budgeting, grant opportunities, or requests for interest from management firms or lessees.
At the workshop close, city staff committed to include the NGF report in future parks and council agendas so elected officials can weigh the trade-offs among municipal subsidy, management alternatives and capital sourcing.
