The Austin City Council on Thursday awarded an operations contract for the Butler Pitch and Putt golf course to a new group, all but ending the 70-year run of the Kinser family, which has run the course since it opened.

The vote came after debate over when the council should inject itself into the contracting process. Several council members had hoped to re-open bidding on the small course near Barton Springs Drive and Lamar Boulevard to allow operator Lee Kinser to correct a paperwork error that disqualified her from being considered for the contract.

The vote was 7-4 with council members Leslie Pool, Kathie Tovo, Ann Kitchen and Mayor Steve Adler against. As council members on the losing side began to realize how the vote would come down, some worked to add direction in contract negotiations that would include provisions to keep the course fees affordable.

In the weeks leading up to the vote, the course has come to symbolize what Tovo called "old Austin." Hundreds rallied to the side of the Kinsers in hopes of reopening the contract. Pool said the city should maintain the family's legacy at Butler Pitch and Putt.

"If we are going to lose the Kinser’s heart and soul in, frankly, something they created, it is incumbent on us to say we don’t reject what they did at the pitch and putt," Pool said "We embrace it."

Council member Jimmy Flannigan was the most vocal in support of awarding the contract to the winning bidder, Pecan Grove Partners. That group includes Patrick Jeffers, a Super Bowl champion as a wide receiver with the Denver Broncos, Jason Black, the son of Leon Black, a longtime coach the University of Texas men’s basketball team from 1968 to 1976. They are joined by Bart Knaggs, whose business ventures include C3 Presents, the promotion company behind such events as the Austin City Limits Festival.

Flannigan said that it would set a bad precedent and open up the procurement process to political pressure if the council did not award the contract to Pecan Grove Partners, one of two groups considered for the operations contract.

"When we allow politics to inject itself into procurement, it creates corruption," Flannigan said.

Following the vote, Kinser did not answer any questions from the media. Earlier this month she said losing out on the contract would be "devastating."

Unless something goes awry in contract negotiations, Pecan Grove Partners will lease the course from the city at no cost and give 18% of both admissions and concessions to the city, which realized $87,367 in revenue in 2018. The operator pays for all maintenance and operations, including course upkeep.