Vote tabled on Memorial Park golf redo

Astros owner Jim Crane’s plan to renovate the Memorial Park golf course to host the PGA Tour’s Houston Open was delayed Wednesday, with council members questioning whether the city should receive a larger share of an annual tournament fee that could be used for other park projects.

Council member Mike Laster exercised his authority to delay for a week a vote on the proposal, which would have allowed renovation work on the Memorial Park course to begin next Monday.

Councilman Dwight Boykins joined Laster in tagging the item, which will be back before the council at its Jan. 9 meeting.

Mayor Sylvester Turner, who helped negotiate the proposed Memorial Park deal with the Astros Golf Foundation and the Memorial Park Conservancy, said he expects the arrangement to be approved next week and for the Houston Open to be played at Memorial Park in 2020.

“There is solid support around the (council) table for the project,” Turner said. “I would have preferred for the vote to take place (Wednesday) … but it’s a legislative process.

“The PGA (tournament) will be held in Houston at Memorial in 2020, and it will be on time. I’m very optimistic about that.”

Giles Kibbe, the Astros’ general counsel and president of the Astros Golf Foundation that will stage the Houston Open beginning this year, said the delay jeopardizes plans for the tournament’s 2020 return to Memorial Park, where it was played from 1951-63. The tournament was played at several other area country clubs before moving to The Woodlands in 1975 and, since 2003, to the Golf Club of Houston in Humble.

“It’s extremely disappointing,” Kibbe said. “We’ve been waiting to get this going. We were hoping to get started in December.

“Hopefully we get a good vote next week, and we can move fast … but every day matters. … This put it at risk, no doubt.”

The renovation has to be finished by October because the PGA Tour requires a course be open for a year before it hosts an event.

The Astros Golf Foundation proposes to spend $13.5 million to renovate the city-owned public course to PGA Tour standards, adding a new double-decked driving range and an additional four-hole course for use by the First Tee of Greater Houston, a youth golf program operated by the Houston Golf Association.

Getting a bigger share

Laster said he opted to delay Wednesday’s vote in an effort to gain a larger share for the city of a $1 million annual fee that the Astros Golf Foundation will pay for hosting the Houston Open at Memorial Park.

Under the plan negotiated by the city, the Astros and the conservancy, $750,000 will go to the city parks fund, and $250,000 will go to the Memorial Park Conservancy for park maintenance.

Laster offered two amendments, one of which would give the full million to the city’s parks department golf fund and one of which would give the full million to the parks department general fund.

Laster, however, said a week’s delay will enable the city to increase funding for other city parks that lack the support provided to Memorial Park and the Memorial Park Conservancy.

“If we are going to get any money for our respective different district parks, we have to get it now,” Laster said.

“$750,000 out of amillion dollars is a good deal. A million out of a million would be even better.”

After the meeting, Laster said, “The conservancy doesn’t need the $250,000, and the money is more desperately needed at other parks across the city. They have chosen to argue about it. Hopefully the week’s delay gives is the chance to have a change of perspective.”

Mayor’s view s Turner said the city and the conservancy both wanted to keep the entire million-dollar annual tournament fee but compromised on the split that provides 75 percent to the city. He said he did not anticipate further negotiation on the matter.

“I think the agreement will go forward as is,” Turner said. “Where (Laster) is, is where I started. I wanted it all.

“But, in the end, when you get three-quarters of it, I think that’s a win.”

The Memorial Park Conservancy had no comment on Wednesday’s developments.

The Memorial Park issue consumed a good portion of Wednesday’s initial council meeting of the year, with golfers and council members discussing issues such as whether moving the PGA Tour event to Memorial Park would reduce public use of the course, whether redevelopment will impact neighborhood residents and whether the redesigned course parking lot would include metered parking.

Under the Astros Golf Foundation plan, the course will be redesigned by noted architect Tom Doak with input from Brooks Koepka, the two-time defending U.S. Open champion and 2018 PGA Championship winner. david.barron@chron.com twitter.com/dfbarron