Case Study: New Prague’s golf course
New Prague, MN has a city-owned golf course that is becoming hard to afford. After already cutting the amount they spend on grounds maintenance, the exurb faces tough decisions highlighted in a Star Tribune article this week.
While New Prague is a city, it has a lot of similarities to Baldwin -- the two exurbs are roughly the same size and are a similar distance from the Twin Cities. But New Prague was able to allowed it to run a golf course for many years until the economic downturn made golfing in the exurbs less attractive. Now, that golf course may be another example of the kind of liability exurbs won't be taking on in the future.
It seems a financial reality is emerging: if consumers don't have a lot of money to spend on recreation, they aren't likely to travel for things they can experience without traveling.
If New Prague, Baldwin or any of the exurbs in between want to attract people from the city in this new emerging economy, each will have to discover unique, localized ways of doing it. What can exurbs offer that other places cannot?
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