Developer Hammons to run Rocky River Golf Club Course beside new hotel and convention center could aid marketing

The Rocky River Golf Club soon will be under new management for the first time in its nine-year history.

The city of Concord, which owns the course, recently made a five-year deal with Missouri developer John Q. Hammons' hotel and convention center to manage the site beginning Oct. 1.

The Embassy Suites Charlotte-Concord and Concord Convention Center, which is set to open in January, sits beside the golf course.

Players should not notice any difference when playing the course, city and Hammons' officials stressed. The city retains control of the rates.

Signet Golf Associates of Pinehurst has managed the site since it opened and had sought a contract renewal, city spokeswoman Annette Privette said. Signet and Hammons were the only ones vying for the new deal, Privette said, and Hammons offered more favorable terms.

"We think it'll be a really good fit," she said.

Privette said the Hammons organization would receive $81,000 over the life of the contract. It also will be eligible for bonuses above the monthly rate of $1,350, based on certain criteria, such as the number of rounds of golf played.

Hammons also will take over operating the food service at the golf course.

For the convention center complex, adding golf course oversight to its portfolio "gives us the umbrella of a resort," said Terry Crawford, general manager for the hotel and convention center. That's because Hammons now can offer golf packages as well as an on-site spa.

Rocky River Golf Course also offers Hammons another way to market the hotel and convention center, Crawford said. Crawford previously managed a Hammons golf resort in St. Augustine, Fla.

In Concord, the hotel guests will get a good view of the local golf course. Hole 13 is visible from the hotel lounge.

The 18-hole course opened in 1997 and has been ranked among the state's top 100 courses by golf professionals, Privette said. It is on Speedway Boulevard near Interstate 85.

Another change coming to the site is the addition of a practice facility for UNC Charlotte's golf team, she said. It should be ready this fall, and the public can use it when the team is not.