City of Escondido Authorizes Request for Proposals for Reidy Creek Golf Course as Councilmembers, UNITE HERE Locals 11 & 30 Question Current Contract with JC Resorts

ESCONDIDO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On January 26, 2022, the five-member Escondido City Council unanimously authorized staff to issue a Request for Proposals (“RFP”) for the management of the Reidy Creek Golf Course and Concessions.

The course has presented challenges for Escondido taxpayers under the tenure of operator JC Resorts. The San Diego Union-Tribune called it a “municipal money pit” in October 2018. Since 2018, Escondido taxpayers have continued to subsidize the Reidy Creek course.

During the meeting, councilmembers questioned the course’s performance and the terms of the city’s contract with JC Resorts.

• Mayor Paul McNamara said, “I think we’re all a little bit nervous that we don’t want to go back to years and years of us losing money.”
• Councilmember Consuelo Martinez said, “When I got on the council in late 2018 and all through 2020 it made me cringe to see how much the city was losing with this golf course.” Martinez acknowledged that course revenue increased in 2021 and encouraged other operators to apply to manage the Reidy Creek Golf Course.
• Councilmember Joe Garcia asked why the city’s contract had been for ten years and if it could be shorter, and staff said that it could have a shorter term.

Prior to the meeting, Sierra Club North County Group, Climate Action Campaign and the hotel workers’ union called on the Escondido City Council to replace JC Resorts as golf course operator and consider alternative uses for the site given its prior performance. The groups stated that “We do not understand the rationale behind a contract that increased JC Resorts’ management fees even as taxpayers had to kick in money to subsidize the operation.”