The Year of the Greenway and the Fairway
Recreation opportunities coming to fruition soon

By Ryan Bakken
Herald Staff Writer

1/14/02 - If 2001 was the Year of New Facilities locally, then 2002 will be the Year of New Recreation Options.

The past year was marked by the opening of the Alerus Center and Ralph Engelstad Arena, providing dramatically improved venues for UND sports teams and offering other entertainment options. Both arenas opened to rave reviews as they improved the quality of life in the region.

In 2002, the entertainment options will move outdoors. Headed by the scheduled openings of King's Walk Golf Course in Grand Forks and Greenway development in East Grand Forks, recreation choices will be enhanced in the new year.

Walk fit for a king

Many golfers are anticipating the expected June 1 opening of King's Walk, a signature golf course designed by Arnold Palmer. It's a links-style course, with a design and construction that will ensure top quality.

"The quality of it will raise the bar of what people expect in a golf course," said John Staley, Grand Forks Park District superintendent. "It will be a regional draw. People from Bismarck and Bemidji will come over to play it, but I'm not sure it will be a great destination draw from far away.

"We do think we'll do well in Canadian trade, however. It will have a huge economic impact for tourism."

Staley said plans are to market the golf course in conjunction with events such as concerts, arts performances, festivals and other sporting events to make Grand Forks a weekend vacation attraction.

"Besides all the unique things a championship golf course provides, there's the practical issue that once it opens, a flood or high rains won't stop it," Staley said. "It will be predictably open, period.

"It's one of the few golf courses around that isn't laid out along a river valley or stream bed."

King's Walk should attract visitors because the green fees are friendly to residents of the region. Its rate structure calls for two rates, the lower one being in effect for residents of an 11-county area, roughly a 75-mile radius. While the standard green fee is $45, residents in the 11-county area will have to pay only $24 if they purchase a club card for $30. For those outside the region, the $24 green fees are available after paying $99 for the club card.

"The response has been pretty positive on the pricings," Staley said. "People realize that we got as close to the edge as we could without supporting it with tax dollars."

Season-ticket prices have had a cooler response. The cost of season tickets has roughly doubled from those offered at Lincoln Park, from $406 to $799 for individuals and $700 to $1,400 for families. To satisfy the regulars at Lincoln Park, the longtime municipal course in the city that will be replaced by King's Walk, another option is in the works.

"We'll probably call it the Dew-Sweepers Club," Staley said. "If you tee off before 11 a.m. Monday through Friday, you can get a season pass for $500."

While King's Walk is set for a June 1 start to allow the grass to mature fully, the status of Lincoln Park is uncertain.

If dike construction work starts in the fall, the entire 18-hole course could be open for most of the season. If work starts in June, the entire course likely will be shut down then.

The other variable is flooding.

"If it floods, we will not clean it up," Staley said. "It would be throwing money out the window to clean it up. If it floods, we'll run it as a makeshift nine holes on the upper half of the course."

Other projects in GF Other recreation improvements by the Grand Forks Park District this year include:

• The development of Jaycees Park in the Richards West Subdivision, west of Interstate 29. It will be a full-service park, with a playground, shelters and playing fields.

• The start of construction on Lincoln Drive Park, located at the site of the old Lincoln Elementary School. Work won't be complete until 2003.

• The building of soccer fields at neighborhood parks.

• Construction of a Japanese garden, a gift from sister city Awano, Japan. The garden, in Sertoma Park, should be done in late summer.

Greenway arrives

The Red River State Recreation Area -- a campground -- should be open in East Grand Forks by late summer. That will be the centerpiece of the Greenway project in East Grand Forks.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources project will be built in the former Sherlock Park neighborhood.

Dale Skyberg, the East Grand Forks Park and Recreation Department director, said he expects work to be done in August, thus ensuring some usage this year.

The site will have toilet facilities, a pump station, hard pads for recreational vehicles and electrical hookups. The plan calls for 140 camping sites.

"The big question is if the DNR is going to be affected by cutbacks and budget problems," Skyberg said.

Plans also call for a bike/walking trail going through the Greenway. One project is for a trail running from the southern edge of the Sherlock Park area to 17th Street Northwest. Also in the works is lighting on the trail between the Sorlie and Murray bridges.

The dike project also includes several projects, the most significant of which is a new warming house and playground area near the VFW Arena on the Point.

Plans are also for the temporary Crestwood school, now used for storage, to be converted to a natural-ice rink.

"It would be basically an outdoor rink with a roof on it," Skyberg said. The project would be paid for with private money and volunteer labor. No taxpayer money is involved, Skyberg said.

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