"Public park vies for pro golf, sparking New Orleans debate"
/AP's Cain Burdeau looks at the lack of community consensus over City Parks' $13 million Rees Jones renovation that is remaking the New Orleans park post-Katrina. A Zurich Classic date post-2020 is mentioned as a possibility.
Burdeau writes:
A group called the City Park for Everyone Coalition filed a lawsuit against the park, alleging it had violated wetlands protection laws by digging up the golf course and filling in wetlands.
In July, the Army Corps of Engineers agreed with the plaintiffs and said the park had illegally removed a 1.3-acre area of wetlands.
Golfers, too, have expressed doubts about the pricy course in the public park.
"I'm expecting nothing but fantastic out of it," said Carl Poche, a pro golfer from the New Orleans area. But he said building a top-flight course in City Park is contrary to the spirit of the park, where he fondly remembers playing rounds during the summer as a young man.
"It was mainly for people who couldn't afford the country club," he said.