Changes are coming to Nampa’s two city-owned golf courses. What just happened, and why
Since the early 1980s, the city of Nampa has leased land from the state for two golf courses, Centennial and Ridgecrest.
Now, for the first time in 40 years, the city will own the two courses after council members authorized the $5.7 million purchase Tuesday.
The golf courses occupy almost 500 acres north of Interstate 84, east of the Franklin Road exit.
Centennial was Nampa’s first municipal golf course, according to its website. The 18-hole course was built after city leaders and golfers led a campaign to raise money to construct it. It opened in 1987.
“Known for its large contoured fairways and putting surfaces, Centennial was designed to accommodate a broad range of golf abilities,” says the course website.
Because of Centennial’s popularity, Nampa leased another several hundred acres from the state for a second city-run golf course. The Ridgecrest Golf Club was opened in 1996, said the city in a news release.
Ridgecrest is a 27 hole-course and home to the Ridgecrest PGA Jr. League, a golf program for children ages 8-17.
The golf courses are part of a 600-acre parcel that includes the Southwest Idaho Treatment Center, which houses 20 intellectually disabled residents. The land was once home to the Idaho State School and Hospital, which opened in 1918. At one time, the school and hospital served more than 1,100 developmentally disabled people, the Idaho Statesman previously reported.
Centennial is on the west end of the property, and Ridgecrest is on the east. Health and Welfare proposed developing much of the property, including the golf courses, eight years ago to raise money. The department withdrew the proposal in 2016 after the City Council, facing neighbors’ opposition, decline to rezone it.
Randy Aldridge, president of the Men’s Senior Golf Association at Centennial, spoke at Tuesday’s council meeting. He said the city’s purchase was “a long time coming.”
“We have accomplished something we thought could never be accomplished,” Aldridge said. “I want to say thank you to everyone on the City Council.” He then asked everyone in the audience at the meeting to stand up and clap for the council members, and they did.
“The city of Nampa has been leasing this land for 40 years and began exploring the possibility of purchasing the ground around 17 years ago,” Mayor Debbie Kling said in the news release. “This was a community-wide effort to first build the golf courses and now finally own them. It would not have been possible without the collaboration of Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, the support of the golf commission and community members and the countless hours by our Parks and Recreation staff.”
Money for the purchase will come from reserves, the city said, with $3 million from the golf fund and $2.7 million from the general fund.
