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SENECA NATION OF INDIANS BREAKS GROUND FOR CHAMPIONSHIP GOLF COURSE PROJECT IN LEWISTON
Robert Trent Jones II design scheduled to open in 2009
LEWISTON, NEW YORK - The eyes of the golf world - and of the Seneca Nation of Indians - took a look toward the future in the Town of Lewiston today.
A group of Seneca Nation officials were on hand to celebrate the official groundbreaking for the proposed $20 million Hickory Stick Golf Club public golf course project. They were joined by Town of Lewiston Supervisor Fred Newlin and world renowned golf course architect Robert Trent Jones, Jr., whose firm is designing the project.
The project is the first off-territory economic development project that the Seneca Nation has undertaken, and will keep the land on the local tax rolls.
"This is a first for the people of the Seneca Nation," said Maurice A. John, Sr., President of the Seneca Nation of Indians. "For generations, we have worked and struggled to develop our own lands for our future generations. Today, we take a great step forward - developing a wonderful new project with our neighbors in the Town of Lewiston."
Located on approximately 251 acres of previously wooded, undeveloped land, the project site is bordered by Pletcher Road, Creek Road and the Robert Moses Parkway.
Construction on the course will continue into 2008, when construction of an approximately 15,000 square-foot clubhouse will begin. The course is expected to open for play at the start of the 2009 golf season.
Named to reflect the presence of rare Shellbark Hickory trees on the site, Hickory Stick will play more than 7,000 yards to a Par-72 and will feature a scenic layout highlighted by numerous lakes and ponds. The project is of special significance to Robert Trent Jones, Jr.
"We are so happy to now be
able to create a beautiful new golf course
in upstate New York, near Rochester where
my father grew up and worked," he said. "We
will honor his memory through the game of
golf with this wonderful new creation which
we hope will be sensitively crafted into the
land and of the land, and which will last
the test of time for all golf time."
Hickory Stick will be the first Western New York project for Jones, whose firm has designed more than 230 courses in 38 countries on six continents, including a remarkable 108 venues that have hosted World Cups, USGA Championships and PGA Tour events.
Last year, Jones was awarded the "Best New Public Golf Course" award by Golf Digest in for his Osprey Meadows design in Donnelly, Idaho. Another Jones creation, Chambers Bay in Washington state, is expected to be considered for the 2007 award once it opens later this month.
The fact that Jones, one of the most well-known names in golf course design, is creating Hickory Stick will add to the course's prestige and give it instant pedigree among the golfing community.
It is estimated that more than 4,000 patrons from across the northeast, Midwest and Canada will travel to Hickory Stick Golf Club in its first year of operation alone, making the course a useful tool for the region's tourism industry.
"Not only will this project serve as a tourism destination in and of itself, it will also provide the visitors already visiting Niagara County a reason to stay longer and a reason to come back and visit again," said Brian Hansberry, President and CEO of Seneca Gaming Corporation, noting that the added amenity in the area will be of great interest to many of the more than 8 million visitors who come to Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel every year.
From an economic development perspective, the area's newest golf course is expected to have a significant impact on the local economy.
The project will create 44 new jobs, with an approximate payroll of $1.4 million. Because the land for the project will remain on the tax rolls, Hickory Stick Golf Club will generate an estimated $250,000 - $312,000 in property tax and more than $388,000 is sales tax in its initial year of operation alone. The total economic impact from construction will range between $11 million and $23 million, while the first year of operation will provide an estimated economic impact of $4.3 million.
Of course, Hickory Stick Golf Club will be judged by the quality of play and the draw it provides to the area, both of which the Seneca Nation is quite confident of.
"We believe that Hickory Stick Golf Club won't just compete with the high-end courses across the river and throughout New York State," said Barry E. Snyder, Sr., Chairman of Seneca Gaming Corporation, who has been involved in the project since its inception. "We believe that Hickory Stick will stand above the competition as a destination that all golf fans will hear about and want to try."
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