Amoco Reuse Board Subsidizes Three Crowns for $540,965; Course Has Lost Nearly $5 Million Since 2004

The board that oversees the development of the former Amoco refinery property spent $540,965 to underwrite the Three Crowns golf course in the fiscal year ending June 30, according to its most recent audit presented at the board's meeting Wednesday.

The golf course, the centerpiece of the refinery site now known as the Platte River Commons, historically was supposed to repay its subsidies to the Amoco Reuse Agreement Joint Powers Board, according to the audit prepared by Skogen, Cometto and Associates on Dec. 5.

But the golf course has lost $4,862,975 since it opened in 2004, and the board has determined that Three Crowns LLC will never be able to repay what it owes, according to the audit.

So auditor Roxy Skogen suggested the financial records of the course's manager, OB Sports of Scottsdale, Ariz., should be included in the board's regular audit for a clearer financial picture.

The board knows it needs to do something about that, its chairman Bryce Row said.

"What was just recommended to us was to review that process to see if we want to make a change," Row said. "If we want to make that change we would have to encompass the financial aspect of Three Crowns within in our purview, so we would have to have more controls."

From its opening in 2004, the Amoco Reuse Agreement Joint Powers Board has subsidized Three Crowns LLC for $4,862,975, according to the audit.

In March, the board formed a task force to figure out what to do about the continuing losses. Row said then, “We will leave no stone unturned."

Besides the Three Crowns discussion, the audit showed the ARAJPB has $34.8 million in assets, $1.2 million in liabilities for a total net position of $33.6 million.

That's $1.5 million less than the previous fiscal year, which Row said was the result of not selling lots at the former Amoco tank farm now known as the Salt Creek Heights Business Center. "We expect to more to occur this year."

The ARAJPB was created in 1998 when Amoco — now BP — signed an agreement with the city of Casper and Natrona County to oversee the development of the property.

The Casper City Council and the Natrona County Commission appoint the board members.

BP pledged $28 million toward the goal of replacing the number of jobs lost when the refinery shut down in 1991.

The board receives no money from the city or the county.