San Juan County Nearing Closing on Riverview Golf Course Purchase
The sale of Riverview Golf Course in Kirtland, N.M., to San Juan County was expected to close by March 15, following approval this week from a state finance board.
The property is being transferred from the Central Consolidated School District, which has owned the course at least since the 1970s.
Workers for the El Paso Natural Gas Co. built the course’s first nine while assigned to the gas fields of the San Juan Basin. A second nine designed by architect Baxter Spann was built in about 2000.
Property being transferred includes maintenance equipment, a snack bar, pro shop and 254 acres, of which 82 are turfed. Another 79 acres of undeveloped state land under lease abuts the course.
The land transfer is free. About $90,000 is being paid for the pro shop and snack bar inventory, said Mike Stark, projects manager for San Juan County.
“The school district, in this time of cutbacks, decided a golf course was not part of their mission, but for us the opportunity for recreation in the western part of the county was something we thought we should pursue,” Stark said.
Riverview is a hub of golf activity for children from the nearby Navajo Nation. The San Juan County Commission voted 4-1 in December to approve the purchase, contingent upon approval by the State Board of Finance in Santa Fe.
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