City Council authorized payment of $950,000 to the Century Club in 2002 as reimbursement for outlays on the Torrey Pines South renovation
The Century Club consistently fails to disclose this $950,000 payment when it makes claims that it raised over $3 million for the South Course renovations. Moreover, the undisclosed sum means that the Century Club/Friends of Torrey Pines has made a substantial profit at the City’s expense: it has obtained $4.45 million back (the $950,000 payment from the City plus the $3.5 million from the U.S.G.A.) on a $3 million investment, a 48.3% profit on what the Century Club has repeatedly claimed was a gift to the City.
Below is a letter from the SDMGA to the Coastal Commission and the minutes (Item 103) from the San Diego Council meeting regarding this affair.
_______________________________________________________________________
From: Paul Spiegelman
Sent: Sunday, December 17, 2006 10:43 PM
To: Ellen Lirley – Coastal CommissionCc: Joe Burwell; John Beaver
Subject: Additional Information on Torrey Pines Project - Century ClubDear Ms. Lirley,
I just received additional information regarding the Century Club which relates to the Tournament Support Building; attached are minutes of the City Council Meeting of February 11, 2002. At that meeting, the City Council authorized the payment of $950,000 to the Century Club to reimburse the Century Club for outlays on the renovation of Torrey Pines South.
The significance of this payment is that it further illustrates the untrustworthiness of the information put out by the Century Club and its unwholesome, exploitative relationship with the City. On pages 6-8 of our Supplemental Statement, SDMGA notes that the Century Club and its offshoot, The Friends of Torrey Pines, (private organizations with membership limited to the affluent) publicly boasted of their raising money to finance the renovation of the South Course and then used their position as go-between with the U.S.G.A. to divert $3.5 million in revenues that should be going to the City back to the individual members of the Friends of Torrey Pines. The City Council action in 2002 to pay the Century Club $950,000 (which it notes was part of an arrangement made before the Century Club helped raise the money) is material information which the Century Club fails to disclose when it makes claims that it raised over $3 million for the South Course renovations. Moreover, the undisclosed sum means that the Century Club/Friends of Torrey Pines has made a substantial profit at the City’s expense: it has obtained $4.45 million back (the $950,000 payment from the City plus the $3.5 million from the U.S.G.A.) on a $3 million investment, a 48.3% profit on what the Century Club has repeatedly claimed was a gift to the City. And, as pointed out in our Supplemental Statement, the increased maintenance on the South necessitated by the renovations (the City claims that the effect of the renovations was to double the cost of maintaining the South Course) is also paid for by golfers in higher greens fees. In addition, the difficulty of the South Course has led golf management to allow 25% fewer rounds on the South Course. Thus, the Century Club’s “gift” to the City cost golfers $950,000 in payments from the Enterprise Fund to the Century Club, sharp increases in greens fees, and a reduction of 22,500 rounds per year in the number of rounds we can play on the South Course. Meanwhile the Century Club has profited $1,450,000 on the project! San Diego municipal golfers cannot afford any more such Trojan Horse gifts from the Century Club.
SDMGA is concerned that the construction of the unnecessary Tournament Support Building as the home base of the Century Club on Torrey Pines will facilitate the Century Club’s agendas: the elimination of Torrey Pines as an affordable coastal recreational facility, the expropriation of public parkland for its own private purposes, and the financial exploitation of local golfers and the Golf Enterprise Fund. The Century Club’s approach seems to be “ordinary citizens must pay so that millionaires can play.” If this private club for the wealthy gains a permanent base on Torrey Pines, the end of Torrey Pines as a municipal golf course could soon follow. We urge the Coastal Commission to reject the Tournament Support Building (as well as the other unnecessary and extravagant Torrey Projects) or at least impose conditions on any such construction such that a private organization whose membership is restricted to the wealthy will not be allowed to be based on public parkland and not be allowed to exploit the Golf Enterprise Fund. (For a list of conditions that should be imposed if the Commission is considering allowing the Tournament Support Building to be constructed, see Supplemental Statement, page 9.)
Thank you for considering this additional information.
Respectfully yours,
San Diego Municipal Golfers Alliance.
John Beaver, Joe Burwell, Paul Spiegelman,
individually and as co-founders
by: Paul J. Spiegelman, Attorney for Appellants
