As of December 18, the Valley Springs, Calif., property has been closed after owner La Contenta LLC reported losing over $1 million in operating revenues over eight years. Majority interest holder Ryan Voorhees plans to either lease the property, find additional investors, or sell the golf course outright.
The investment group that owns and operates the La Contenta Golf Club and Events Center in Valley Springs, Calif., has announced that it is filing for bankruptcy after sustaining almost a decade of continuous losses, the San Andreas, Calif., Calaveras Enterprise reported.
Attorney Brian Chavez-Ochoa, representing majority interest holder Ryan Voorhees, said that La Contenta LLC has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and will remain closed for the foreseeable future. The golf course was locked to visitors as of December 18, the Enterprise reported.
A statement on behalf of Voorhees said the golf course has lost over $1 million in operating revenues over eight years, the Enterprise reported.
“We do know that La Contenta has operated at a loss for some time, but the last two years the losses were significant, and specifically the last nine months they lost more than they have in the last two years,” Chavez-Ochoa said.
Chavez-Ochoa is not sure what led to the lack of revenue from the golf course, as he has not been involved with the operation’s strategy for the property, he said. According to the statement, Voorhees had assumed person liability of the course, which included two defaulted mortgages and renovations in excess of $500,000. Voorhees himself did not file Chapter 13 personal bankruptcy, the Enterprise reported.
A deal was in place between the ownership and Sierra Golf Management, but the deal fell through for unknown reason. Dante J. Bacci, the vice president of golf operations for Sierra Golf Management that managed La Contenta, released a statement explaining why they felt the need to pull out of the agreement, the Enterprise reported.
“Our goal when we were hired to operate the facility was to improve course conditions, improve customer service and help secure the operation for the future to help make it a viable asset for the entire community,” the statement said. “We feel that we made great strides in those areas and planned on being there for years to come. Unfortunately, the current ownership is unclear on the future of the facility and we were unclear on our role in that future.”
Rumors have begun to swirl in the Valley Springs community on what the future of the golf course will be, which have involved everything from new homes to new roadways to connect to Voorhees’ other properties around Valley Springs. There are no plans to change the property into anything other than a golf course, and building new homes or roadways are out of the question, Chavez-Ochoa said. The goal, the attorney said, is to either lease the property, find additional investors or sell the golf course outright, the Enterprise reported.
In the case that someone takes over the property, future plans could shift. “It’s going to remain a golf course unless someone who comes in and buys it has any different plans,” said Chavez-Ochoa.
A timeframe remains in flux, according to Voorhees’ representative. Selling or leasing the course sooner rather than later is the plan, but how long it will take to find a potential suitor is up in the air. The statement released Monday evening asked for interested parties with enough “financial strength to either purchase or lease the course” to contact the owners, the Enterprise reported.
“I can tell you we want to accomplish this as soon as possible,” said Chavez-Ochoa. “We understand the impact.”
“Ryan understands the impact this has had on the community, the members and the employees,” he added. “That has not been lost on him and he has struggled with that.”
In terms of purchases already made at the golf course before it was closed, Chavez-Ochoa said that the bankruptcy court will decide how or if those purchases will be reimbursed, the Enterprise reported.
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