Paradise Valley Golf Course seeking new investor

“Paradise Valley is in jeopardy unless we can quickly find a new lending partner or investor. In the meantime, we are being forced to list the course for sale immediately to pay out our business loan.”

Co-owner Dawn Postnikoff, speaking over the phone from British Columbia, says the primary issue impacting golf courses is a decline in usage.

“We’ve worked really hard to bring in additional revenue,” she said. “Rounds have been dropping. There’s a lot of things vying for peoples’ attention these days, and keeping golfers active is a challenge. We’ve looked at food and beverage, we’ve looked at events, we’ve looked at catering, we ran the concession at the curling rink for two years. We’ve always looked at different ways to keep this business successful, rather than just being focused on golf.”

She adds because of the issues facing the golf industry, some banks are no longer interested in financing golf courses.

“They’re more cautious in this economic environment that they would have been five or 10 years ago,” she said.

In addition, the golf course is on leased land from the City of Medicine Hat, which has posed challenges in finding potential buyers for the course in the past.

Despite the challenges, Postnikoff notes it was a good year for Paradise Valley, noting the course has received strong community support since it opened its doors.

“We opened early, we had a good strong year, so business itself it as usual,” she said. “It’s just a matter of finding either and investor, or somebody who wants to take over the reins and take it to the next level before the next season gets kicked off.”

Postnikoff wants to reassure the community that the golf course, which has been running since 1982, will not be shutting down, and expects to be open for the 2020 season in the middle of March.

“We’re not going to be shutting down, we just need to have a short-term solution to take it to the next level,” she said.

Postnikoff says she is putting the final touches on a crowdfunding plan for additional development for Paradise Valley, and expects to release more details in the next six weeks. They’re also in discussions with the city regarding its long-term lease.

Those interested in helping can contact Postnikoff by email at dawn@paradisevalleypar3.com.

by Charles Lefebvre

Paradise Valley Golf Course seeking new investor

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