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The city of Winnipeg’s golf courses are in such poor financial shape, they can’t even pay off the millions they owe the city using new taxpayer subsidies designed specifically to pay off their debt.

Despite that, city politicians — the same ones who whine ad nauseam they’re not getting enough money from the province — plan to keep running city golf courses even though they’re losing hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.

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According to the Winnipeg Golf Services most recent business plan going to city council this week, the city’s four golf courses are projecting a loss of over a half-million dollars this year alone. Technically, the special operating agency is projecting a surplus of $170,000 in 2019. But that includes a $730,000 subsidy from the city of Winnipeg’s general revenue fund. Without the taxpayer bailout, the SOA is in the red $560,000.

City golf courses have been losing money for years. Some have been leased out to third-party operators, but the city still runs or maintains four of them. Notwithstanding the debate about whether the city should even be in the golf course business, the problem is the golf course market in Winnipeg has been over saturated for years. There are some 50 golf courses within a 70 km radius of Winnipeg. Even the WGS in its business plan admits the marketplace is overcrowded.