BY DAVID PAUL THEBUS
The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) recently unveiled its Hiawatha Links Concepts, a $43 million plan to redevelop the struggling Hiawatha Golf Course. This decision raises serious concerns about fiscal responsibility and the MPRB’s failure to adapt to evolving recreational trends, particularly the growing demand for inclusive golf experiences. The MPRB must prioritize financial sustainability and equity by rethinking Hiawatha Links’ role in preserving golf’s history while aligning with modern recreational preferences.
Financial Strain on the MPRB Enterprise Fund
The MPRB’s Enterprise Fund, intended to be self-sustaining, is under significant pressure. According to the 2024 Un-Audited Year-End Financial Status Report, the fund’s net income fell by 24.7% last year. Golf, the fund’s primary revenue source, generated only $37,974 in net income in 2024—a 95.9% drop from 2023 and $733,129 below budget projections. Golf revenue grew just 2.8%, while expenses surged by 13.8%, reducing golf’s share of total Enterprise Fund revenue from 57.1% to 55.5%. This imbalance signals an unsustainable financial trajectory.
Hiawatha Golf Course has been a persistent financial burden. From 2008 to 2017, MPRB golf courses collectively lost $8.9 million, with Hiawatha alone posting a $2 million deficit from 2011 to 2017. Its last positive net income was a mere $20,309 in 2010. A 2014 flood rendered the course unplayable until 2016, costing $4 million in repairs and lost revenue. Located below Lake Hiawatha’s average water level, the course requires constant groundwater pumping, adding to operational costs even on dry days. These ongoing expenses exacerbate the financial strain on the MPRB.
The Costly Hiawatha Links Proposal
The Hiawatha Golf Course Area Master Plan proposes shrinking the course from 18 to nine holes at a staggering $43 million cost, with an estimated annual net revenue of just $218,000. Future flooding could easily undermine this projection, given the course’s vulnerability. The MPRB’s 2025 budget proposes no increase in greens fees, with only a $1 per 18-hole round increase planned for 2026—insufficient to cover rising costs or address climate-related risks. This modest fee adjustment fails to ensure fiscal sustainability.
Shifting Recreational Trends
Recreational preferences are evolving, and traditional golf is losing ground. An MPRB system-wide golf study found Hiawatha operating at just 47% capacity. National Golf Foundation data shows on-course golf rounds declining from 2001 to 2019, hitting historic lows in 2018 and 2019. While the COVID-19 pandemic briefly boosted participation in 2020 due to a demand for socially distanced activities, this surge is fading as return-to-office policies and economic pressures grow. In 2024, off-course golf—such as miniature golf, simulators, and scored driving ranges—surpassed on-course play in popularity, per the 2025 Graffis Report.
Off-course golfing options like Puttshack in Edina, Five Iron Golf simulators in the North Loop, and Top Golf in Brooklyn Center are driving golf’s growth. These venues offer faster, more affordable, and family-friendly experiences, often available at night. The MPRB has already embraced this trend by adding simulators at Columbia Golf Club, open year-round with hourly rates from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., boosting revenue and accessibility.
Recreational Equity and Access
Critics argue that closing Hiawatha could limit recreational options, but the MPRB operates six other public courses, and the Twin Cities offer over 100 golf courses of varying sizes and price points. Without user zip code data, it’s unclear how many Hiawatha golfers are Minneapolis residents, raising questions about who benefits from this public investment. Off-course golf options may better serve low- and moderate-income residents, a key demographic for future golf growth, by offering more accessible and inclusive experiences.
Recommendations for a Sustainable Future
To address Hiawatha’s challenges, the MPRB should take three decisive steps:
1. Release User Data: Publish golfer zip code data to clarify whether Hiawatha serves Minneapolis residents, ensuring transparency in public spending.
2. Adjust Greens Fees: Set fees to cover operating, capital, and flood-related costs, reducing reliance on public subsidies. A $1 per round increase is inadequate.
3. Embrace Off-Course Golf: Expand inclusive, revenue-generating options like miniature golf, driving ranges, and simulators to meet modern recreational demands.
A Path Forward
Continuing to prop up Hiawatha Golf Course without addressing its financial losses and low participation is unsustainable and out of step with modern trends. The MPRB has an opportunity to lead by investing in inclusive, revenue-generating off-course golf options and repurposing land for broader community benefit. By aligning with evolving recreational preferences, the MPRB can create a more equitable, financially sound, and vibrant park system for Minneapolis residents.
David Paul Thebus is an Architect, Co-chair of the Standish Ericsson Neighborhood Association Housing and Community Development Committee, and a Graduate Student of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Minnesota. You can reach out to David on linkedin.
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Response to Op Ed by David Thebus
BY KATHRYN KELLY
What is the purpose of the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board’s Enterprise Fund, and what is in it? It contains entities that charge fees, thus the fund is self-sustaining and not supported by taxpayer money. In 2024, the Enterprise Fund contained refectories (restaurants), ice arenas, Columbia Manor, parking revenue, Nicollet Island, golf, boat/rack rentals, winter programs (Loppet), Junior golf, and a new Stormwater Enterprise fund. The net PROFIT for the 2024 Enterprise Fund was $1.8 million on $18.4 million in revenue and $16.6 million in expenses from the audited annual report. Some entities in the fund made a profit and some didn’t. This is always true; the profitable and unprofitable entities vary from year to year.
Mr. Thebus’ article talks about how detrimental golf is to the Enterprise Fund. I will respond to some of his statements.
He says that golf’s net income in unaudited reports dropped 95.9% from 2023 to 2024. If we look starting in 2017, rather than cherry-picking one instance from the unaudited reports, we see that this number varies wildly.
2016 -> 2017 -116.57%
2017 -> 2018 +54.20%
2018 -> 2019 -8.15%
2019 -> 2020 +319.10%
2020 -> 2021 -7.21%
2021 -> 2022 -95.98%
2022 -> 2023 +1839.09%
2023 -> 2024 -95.91%
The most striking change is from 2022 to 2023, an increase of 1839.09%. So, I would ask, what do these percentages of lower/higher revenue from year to year really mean? I don’t know what they mean other than net profit/loss is erratic. We have found that there have been many fluctuations in net income since 2010, many of which have nothing to do with the operational aspects of golf. Here are some examples:
⦁ Park Board management kept Hiawatha Golf Course closed a year longer than necessary after the 2014 flood so they could get FEMA money.
⦁ The Hiawatha kitchen was out of commission from 2013 to 2017, so no food revenue.
⦁ Hiawatha had a grounds superintendent that did not properly maintain the golf course prior to 2014, which heavily reduced patronage.
⦁ Hiawatha’s greens fees were lower than the other golf courses long after 2014, reducing revenue.
⦁ Hiawatha opened late in 2024, losing one month of revenue, because Park Board management fumbled the hiring of a new manager.
⦁ Hiawatha lost most maintenance staff during the 2024 strike. Course conditions suffered, thus losing patronage and revenue.
⦁ Park Board staff left water on in the Meadowbrook clubhouse over the winter resulting in damage to the building. It had to be demolished and rebuilt.
⦁ Meadowbrook was closed for several years due to the 2014 flood, thus losing revenue.
⦁ Theodore Wirth was partially closed for over a year to redo parts of the golf course to accommodate the Loppet, thus losing revenue.
⦁ Theodore Wirth always opens later and closes earlier than the other golf courses due to Loppet activities (spring snow melt and fall snow making), thus losing revenue.
⦁ Columbia was partially closed for over a year for sewer work to benefit the surrounding community, thus losing revenue.
⦁ When the Loppet took over cross country skiing, Park Board staff that worked at golf courses in the summer and winter sports in the winter were now charged year round to the golf courses, thus increasing expenses.
⦁ We found that in years 2015, 2016 & 2017 the Park Board had to “catch up” on their pension contributions due to under-funding of their pensions in previous years, adding a huge expense to golf of $574,253, $1,038,470 and $386,541, respectively. In previous years golf profits were transferred to general fund items like paying off the Nieman Field debt. If these profits had been kept and applied to pension payments, these delayed pension expenses would not have happened, or would have been less.
⦁ From 2015 to 2023, the Park Board charged $1,028,650.78 to the Golf Department for work on the Hiawatha Golf Course Master Plan, increasing expenses.
⦁_During the pandemic (2020), General Fund employees worked at the golf courses so that they were not laid off. We don’t know if their wages were paid out of golf course revenue or general fund revenue.
Mr. Thebus also parrots the Park Board’s statement that the 2014 flood rendered Hiawatha golf course “unplayable until 2016, costing
$4 million in repairs and lost revenue.” Using the Park Board’s Annual Reports it is easy to calculate the revenue loss at $557,826. The FEMA application listed $1.1 million in damage. So, at most, the final number would be $1,657,826. Revenue loss would not have been so high if the Park Board had not kept the back nine closed to get FEMA money, which was never used to repair the golf course.
Mr. Thebus also talks about the expense of pumping water putting financial strain on the MPRB. Public data requests from 2011 to 2018 show that the ANNUAL electric bills for the Pump House ranged between $174 and $252 PER YEAR. So, pumping cost has been negligible and paid for by golfers.
Mr. Thebus states that Hiawatha Golf Course is operating at 47% of its capacity. That number was calculated for the 2013 year when the golf course was not being properly maintained and suffered a huge loss of patronage.
His other “inclusive golf experiences” are not an either/or with traditional golf. All could be done if the Park Board was interested.
Mr. Thebus says that it isn’t clear if Hiawatha Golf Course really serves South Minneapolis residents. It would be wonderful if he would do research into who patronizes each of the Minneapolis golf courses. Then, he wouldn’t need to speculate.
The problem with analyses like this one done by Mr. Thebus is that it does not dig into the reasons for these numbers. Mr. Thebus should do more research and public data requests like we have to provide more in-depth analysis of Enterprise Fund revenue and expenses, rather than just cherry-picking numbers and speculating.
