Post by 10point on Aug 26, 2005 9:41:09 GMT -5
HAMMOND The members of Woodmar Country Club voted Thursday to sell their 93-acre private club and golf course to outdoor retailer Cabela's Inc. for $14 million.
The vote to sell the club's land and assets was 80 in favor, 69 against, according to a source inside the club who declined to be named.
Cabela's officials intend to use only part of the land for their operations and sell off what's left to ancillary commercial businesses, as the company has done in other parts of the country.
But city leaders have noted that Thursday's sale does not guarantee that Cabela's will build one of it's trademark megastores, because the company still requires state and local subsidies to build.
A second ballot question Thursday to put the golf course land on the open market to try to solicit higher offers failed by a vote of 104 to 40.
Many members left the club in anger as word trickled out to the public that the membership had approved the sale.
Club President Peter Lanman refused to comment on the vote.
Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr., who has said Cabela's will be the catalyst in rejuvenating Hessville, said he popped open a bottle of champaign Thursday when he heard news of the sale.
"I'm happy, very happy. It's been a long, long process," McDermott said.
McDermott has been a controversial figure around the club in recent months, as he's been a strong advocate for building one of Cabela's large-format outdoor retail stores on the club lands, some of the city's largest remaining green space.
"I say thank you, because it's not easy for members who love their club to vote to sell. It's something that's going to benefit the residents of Hammond for years to come," McDermott said.
Members at the club were reluctant to comment. One member angrily refused to talk about the sale other than to declare that scrutiny by local media had greatly complicated the sale. Another member advised a reporter that "a lot of angry people" were sitting in the club's lounge after the vote.
Danny McCarthy, a Hammond resident who has worked as a Woodmar cabbie since 1985, hung protest signs outside the club as members were driving in to vote. The signs urged them to vote against the sale and decried McDermott's influence.
As McCarthy spoke to a reporter, several drivers went by giving thumbs-up and yelling support.
"If you could go back and see the course, and I'm sure they wouldn't let you, you'd say, 'Why do they want to tear this down?'" McCarthy said.
Cabela's spokesman David Draper said the sale is only the first step, because the company will expect to see government incentives similar to what the company has been granted for its other stores.
"We're definitely very thrilled they they've accepted our offer," Draper said. But, "The sale, for how difficult it was, is actually a small part of the project."
In Hoffman Estates, Ill., where Cabela's is considering building a second Chicagoland store, the company had asked for about $40 million in incentives, according to a memo obtained by media there.
McDermott said he was surprised that the vote to sell to Cabela's was so close -- he'd expected a wider margin.
Although rumors had been circulating there was a restraining order to prevent Thursday's vote, no order apparently materialized.
As expected, club members did not vote on two other offers that had been put on absentee ballots sent to club members. Illinois firms Dmyterko and Wright of Oak Brook and Bradford Equity LLC of Chicago both came off the ballot this week.
The vote to sell the club's land and assets was 80 in favor, 69 against, according to a source inside the club who declined to be named.
Cabela's officials intend to use only part of the land for their operations and sell off what's left to ancillary commercial businesses, as the company has done in other parts of the country.
But city leaders have noted that Thursday's sale does not guarantee that Cabela's will build one of it's trademark megastores, because the company still requires state and local subsidies to build.
A second ballot question Thursday to put the golf course land on the open market to try to solicit higher offers failed by a vote of 104 to 40.
Many members left the club in anger as word trickled out to the public that the membership had approved the sale.
Club President Peter Lanman refused to comment on the vote.
Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr., who has said Cabela's will be the catalyst in rejuvenating Hessville, said he popped open a bottle of champaign Thursday when he heard news of the sale.
"I'm happy, very happy. It's been a long, long process," McDermott said.
McDermott has been a controversial figure around the club in recent months, as he's been a strong advocate for building one of Cabela's large-format outdoor retail stores on the club lands, some of the city's largest remaining green space.
"I say thank you, because it's not easy for members who love their club to vote to sell. It's something that's going to benefit the residents of Hammond for years to come," McDermott said.
Members at the club were reluctant to comment. One member angrily refused to talk about the sale other than to declare that scrutiny by local media had greatly complicated the sale. Another member advised a reporter that "a lot of angry people" were sitting in the club's lounge after the vote.
Danny McCarthy, a Hammond resident who has worked as a Woodmar cabbie since 1985, hung protest signs outside the club as members were driving in to vote. The signs urged them to vote against the sale and decried McDermott's influence.
As McCarthy spoke to a reporter, several drivers went by giving thumbs-up and yelling support.
"If you could go back and see the course, and I'm sure they wouldn't let you, you'd say, 'Why do they want to tear this down?'" McCarthy said.
Cabela's spokesman David Draper said the sale is only the first step, because the company will expect to see government incentives similar to what the company has been granted for its other stores.
"We're definitely very thrilled they they've accepted our offer," Draper said. But, "The sale, for how difficult it was, is actually a small part of the project."
In Hoffman Estates, Ill., where Cabela's is considering building a second Chicagoland store, the company had asked for about $40 million in incentives, according to a memo obtained by media there.
McDermott said he was surprised that the vote to sell to Cabela's was so close -- he'd expected a wider margin.
Although rumors had been circulating there was a restraining order to prevent Thursday's vote, no order apparently materialized.
As expected, club members did not vote on two other offers that had been put on absentee ballots sent to club members. Illinois firms Dmyterko and Wright of Oak Brook and Bradford Equity LLC of Chicago both came off the ballot this week.
