The city is looking into a request to inject funding into the disc golf course next to the Sportsplex.
Council voted on Monday to receive the Campbell River Golf Society’s request for $29,700 along with annual maintenance of $5,000.
The request will be discussed as part of the city’s financial planning meetings in early December.
Society supporter Bill Matthews appeared as a delegation.
He noted that disc golf is the fourth fastest-growing sport in the world with the North American association having more than 125,000 members.
“There are over 10,000 golf courses in North America and there (is) approximately 20 alone north of Nanaimo with three of them being in the Comox Valley,” he said.
The first nine holes of the local course are at Willow Point Park next to the Sportsplex.
They were built in 1997. The second nine holes were built in 2003.
Matthews said usage has continually increased over the years.
“Last year, for example, the Sportsplex which rents and sells discs, had 450 rentals and over 500 sales of discs and that, by the way, brought in approximately $2,500 to the city coffers,” Matthews said.
About 10,000 players use the course each year, Matthews said, noting that some schools are incorporating it into their curriculum.
“Obviously, this amount of usage and the age of the course is now necessitating some significant upgrades,” Matthews said. “You have been given a capital budget of $29,700 which we believe will bring the course into great shape and will encourage even more users. This would also allow us to hold sanctioned tournaments which will draw up to well over 100 participants and this will obviously be another added tourism component.”
