Improvements of City Park’s Bayou Oaks Golf Course are nearly complete ahead of an international golf tournament New Orleans will host for the first time in June.
Armed with $7 million in state funding, the LIV Golf tournament in New Orleans will convene on resurfaced greens and an upgraded landscape during the three-day event that will be played two months after the city’s long-standing Zurich Classic held each spring in Avondale.
The popular driving range on Filmore Avenue has been closed since January while construction took place to regrade surfaces, improve drainage, add a new layer of sand, new turf and greens. Officials say the range is scheduled to reopen in late April.
On the South Course, where the tournament will take place, crews have finished trimming trees, repairing bridges, clearing debris and removing dead or invasive plants ahead of schedule, City Park Conservancy Vice President and Chief Planning Officer Randy Odinet said Wednesday.
“It’s really about investing in the things that we have and taking care of our infrastructure. So it’s a good partnership with the state to get that funding in place, to bring in the event and also give us an upgraded range,” Odinet said.
Gov. Jeff Landry and the Louisiana Economic Development requested funding from the state Legislature last year to bring the professional league to Louisiana. The state awarded $2.2 million for Bayou Oaks improvements and $5 million to offer LIV as a hosting fee.
The driving range improvements mark the first set of extensive upgrades to the site since it was built in the 1960s. Renovation plans were included in the 2017 Bayou Oaks master plan but funding wasn’t available at the time, Odinet said.
City Park officials are also coordinating with the Orleans Parish School Board to use a portion of land the board owns within the park for staging and operations during the tournament.
The School Board owns 17-acres of vacant greenspace in City Park that was once the site of Kennedy High School. The board will consider a six-month agreement with City Park on Thursday that would allow the Conservancy to sublease the site to LIV – a benefit New Orleans school officials say will save them money in the long-run.
Landry in August announced the tour’s arrival in a flashy news conference that featured a DJ, pyrotechnics and other elements that offered a glimpse into what crowds can expect during the tournament, which runs June 26-28.
“This is not your grandfather’s golf. We have walk-up songs. We have emcees. We have DJs. We have concerts on the course,” LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil said then.
State officials have said that LIV organizers expect to spend as much as $60 million for the New Orleans stop alone.
Controversy around the tournament’s presence in the U.S. stems from its backing by a Saudi Arabian wealth fund that’s overseen by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has been accused of human-rights violations.
The league has also been admonished over claims that it has nabbed golfers from the PGA Tour with hefty, multi-million dollar signing offers.