The Trump administration has terminated the federal government’s lease agreement with the nonprofit National Links Trust (NLT) for three public golf courses in Washington, DC.
The lease took effect in October 2020 and was designed to run 50 years, with the NLT tasked with the management, operation and improvement of East Potomac Park, Langston, and Rock Creek Park Golf Courses. The Associated Press reports the Department of the Interior terminated the agreement, claiming the NLT failed to implement required capital improvements and other lease terms.
NLT officials said they were “devastated” by the decision and stated $8.5 million was allocated for capital improvements at the courses, adding that rounds played and revenue had more than doubled at the courses.
It is unclear what action the Trump administration will take next. The president’s private company includes golf course development, although the NLT express hope that the courses remain public venues.
“While this termination is a major setback, we remain stubbornly hopeful that a path forward can be found that preserves affordable and accessible public golf in the nation’s capital for generations to come,” the NLT said in a statement.
Larger question to me is – Why is the (our) federal government in the buisness of providing signing 50 year leases to provide “affordable and accessible golf in the nations capital” in the first place?
Subsidized golf? Really?