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.