The Trump Organization has sold the rights to its public golf course in New York City to the Bally’s Corporation, which will see the former president’s name removed from yet another of his flagship properties.
The Trump Organization said Tuesday it will cede control of the 18-hole course — known as Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point — to Bally’s effective immediately. The deal comes as Bally’s hopes to build a coveted casino in New York City, where it seeks to bolster its chances by taking over the property and changing its name to Bally’s Links.
“After the City wasted hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money in its prior failed attempts to complete this project, at the request of Mayor Bloomberg and the NYC Parks Department, The Trump Organization delivered to the people of the City of New York what has been widely recognized as one of the most magnificent public golf experiences anywhere in the world,” Eric Trump, the executive vice president of the company, said in a statement Tuesday.
“We wish them tremendous luck and are confident that Bally’s will continue to operate this exceptional facility in the same world-class manner,” he added.
The golf course is open to the public, but has prompted the consternation of residents and city officials who have lamented its high fees and the sight of the Trump name immortalized in stone at its entrance.
The price of the deal has not been disclosed, but The New York Times notes the figure would likely be “at least tens of millions of dollars.”
The deal also ends part of the saga over Trump-named properties in the city. Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio had attempted to end the contract with the Trump Organization over the former president’s efforts to remain in power surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
But a state judge said the city did not have that power, meaning Trump could have maintained the lease — and the massive “Trump Links” sign in the Bronx — until 2035.
John Minchillo via Associated Press
City Democrats were thrilled with the move.
“I am delighted that Trump’s name will no longer deface city parkland,” New York City Comptroller Brad Lander said last week when the deal was first reported.
