Friday, August 3, 2007

The Valley Club looks for another 9

Board approves plan to expand, county application not yet made


By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer

The Valley Club is planning another overhaul and is touting the Wood River Valley's ongoing golf course expansions as something that will make the area able "to compete with any quality golf destination in the U.S."

The Valley Club announced Wednesday, Aug. 1, that its members voted over a two-month period ending July 31 in favor of a major expansion of the club's facilities and services. The plan hinges in part on a donation of 90 acres of land from The Valley Club member and prominent Idaho developer Harry Rinker.

Rinker's Peregrine Ranch is southwest of The Valley Club across Buttercup Road, and the 90-acre donation is part of a 133-acre chunk of land Rinker owns. In informal conversations with county planners, Rinker has indicated home construction is part of his vision, but neither he nor The Valley Club have yet submitted applications to the county.

The expansion would be highlighted by the addition of a fourth nine holes of golf by designer Tom Fazio.

If Blaine County planners and the County Commission approve the proposal, the club would become the only 36-hole private golf and country club in Idaho, with 18 holes of the West Course by Tom Fazio to go with the original 18 holes of the East Course by Hale Irwin.

The initiative was approved by a vote of 493-274, with 80.4 percent of The Valley Club membership participating. The confidential sealed and faxed ballots for the election were exclusively collected, tabulated and authenticated by J Neel & Co., a CPA firm in Bellevue.

"We are pleased that our membership has supported the board's vision for the future, one that will make The Valley Club one of the best private golf and country clubs in the Northwest, with 36 holes of championship golf, a full fitness center with multiple pools and tennis courts and an expanded clubhouse providing a wide range of dining services," said Board President Al Shoemaker.

Shoemaker said Sun Valley Co.'s construction of the Gun Club 9 on a mountain north of the resort combined with The Valley Club's recent and proposed expansions, as well as existing golf courses, will combine to make Sun Valley a premier golf destination.

The board's approval of the initiative constituted the initial step needed for The Valley Club to move forward on a number of capital projects including acceptance of a gift of 90 acres of contiguous land from Rinker and construction of the final nine holes of a Fazio golf course.

The plan also includes expansion of the existing clubhouse to provide a larger kitchen and a 60-to-80-person dining area to be called the "Stoney Brown" room. The clubhouse expansion would also include expanded covered outdoor patio dining, an extensive wine cellar, enlarged administrative offices and staff areas, improved storage for carts and golf materials, a valet parking area, piano-band and dance area, a new board room an two snack bars.

The original Irwin golf course would be renovated. The plan also calls for the "acquisition" of employee housing.

Financing of the projects will come from an approved assessment of the members, the sale of up to 90 additional full golf memberships and borrowing as needed to supplement cash flow.

Construction on the clubhouse expansion is planned to commence in late 2007, while the Fazio 9 development would begin once Blaine County grants necessary approvals for both the golf course and an adjacent 72-unit housing project for Harry Rinker.

Tom Fazio, a leading golf course architect, has already completed the design of the fourth nine holes. That follows the "enthusiastic reception" given his new West Nine course this summer.

A 2002 initiative, approved by the membership by a similar ratio to the current vote, resulted in a $3.4 million expansion of the fitness center, an enlarged golf shop and storage area, a renovated driving range and a golf learning center in addition to the new West Nine golf course.

"Since the members acquired The Valley Club from its original developers in 1999, our efforts have been focused on improving the quality and range of services offered to our members," said Board Vice President and Development Director Doug Rhymes. "Thanks to excellent work by the staff, as well as the support of the membership for capital improvements. We believe we are now well on the way to creating an outstanding private club, whose members will support and foster businesses throughout the Wood River Valley."

The Valley Club representative Ann Adamson Leonardo said the members waited until mid-summer to conduct the vote in order to give people the opportunity to play the first West Nine golf course by Fazio.

She said negotiations between The Valley Club and Rinker had been going on for some time.




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