Hamilton Golf Course Goes to Airport Authority

After a month of uncertainty, the future of Hamilton Golf Course in Vanderburgh County was decided by county commissioners Tuesday. The 36 hole course and its clubhouse will be transferred from the county to the Evansville Airport Authority, which is also a public agency. Once it owns the land, which it should officially by Wednesday afternoon, the Airport Authority plans to open up a bidding process to find an operator to run the course. The Airport Authority can offer that operator a long term lease of at least 20 years. The county was only able to offer a lease of 3 years. That short term lease was a big reason the Hamilton family decided not to renew their contract to operate the course, which sits on public land. The Hamiltons felt the short term lease made investing their money into maintaining and improving the property a losing proposition. The Airport Authority wants to keep most of the property as a golf course, because it sits in the glide path of approaching planes, and is an FAA designated noise zone. The Airport Authority reportedly has entered in to discussions with the Evansville Convention and Visitors bureau about turning one of the 9 hole courses in to a baseball and softball complex, and developing shared food service facilities to serve both venues.