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Make Sure Rogers Park Plan Delivers

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 27, 2008

Rogers Park Golf Course has a special place in the hearts of Tampa's longtime black residents.

The wooded tract near the Hillsborough River once provided a refuge where black families could gather for picnics without fear of violating segregation laws. In the 1950s, a group of black golfers built - largely by hand - a nine-hole golf course on the site. The men worked as caddies at Palma Ceia Golf and Country Club but were not allowed to play there. The course they built later was expanded to 18 holes.

But the course's cherished history also contains some sore points.

The city-owned Rogers Point Golf Course was neglected for years. In 1999, then-Mayor Dick Greco proposed an agreement that would lease the golf course to the YMCA for 20 years in exchange for $1 million in improvements.

Citizens protested the loss of public control, and the city backed down. Renovations, which included a new clubhouse, were completed without YMCA participation.

Given that history, it is understandable that some residents are upset by a new agreement with the Metropolitan Area YMCA. The 10-year contract allows it to operate the youth program First Tee of Tampa Bay at Rogers Park, lease free. First Tee is designed to teach golf to children.

In exchange, the YMCA will rebuild a dilapidated structure - a former clubhouse built in the 1970s - at a cost of at least $250,000.

Now some of those who opposed the Greco plan are raising objections. They fear the arrangement could lead to a loss of public access and worry it might be marketed only to YMCA members. The city should be sensitive to those fears and be vigilant about keeping Rogers Park a community amenity.

But this proposal also has much to offer.

It will greatly improve Rogers Park. The refurbished building, now unusable, will have a golf simulator, computer stations, classrooms and training space.

The times when First Tee can use the course and other facilities will be limited. YMCA members would receive no discount in green fees. It would not become a YMCA course.

Moreover, Tampa Sports Authority Executive Director Henry Saavedra says the public will never get bumped off the course because of First Tee. He vows, "In no way will the authority allow First Tee to control operations of the public course."

And Mayor Pam Iorio stresses that given the state's financial crisis, "Government needs partners. They are giving us everything; we are giving up nothing."

She says many residents who opposed the 1999 deal now support First Tee.

Critics want the contract, which was approved after a public process two years ago, amended. Iorio says that is not going to happen. Work is already under way.

YMCA officials have written the mayor, pledging that the program will not change the present management of the facility and that the organization is committed to providing financial assistance for kids in need, especially those living in the surrounding community.

As the opponents point out, the letter is not binding, but Iorio, the Sports Authority and the YMCA have publicly committed to the continued public access and control of Rogers Park. Their promises should account for something.

And we would like the two sides work together to achieve something long sought by Rogers Park advocates - a museum at the course celebrating the park's history and black golfers.

We understand why long-time champions of Rogers Park are wary.

They have been burned before. The arrangement must be monitored.

But it seems to us the best way to honor Rogers Park's past is to ensure it a lively future. Introducing a new generation of kids to golf and to the historical course would do that.

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