CONCORD, N.C. – Rocky River Golf Club welcomes a new neighbor when the Concord Convention Center opens in January 2007.
The golf course, owned by the City of Concord, will soon be adjoined by an 11-story Embassy Suites hotel and the convention center. The hotel overlooks the 13th hole at Rocky River and is visible throughout the back nine. It is being developed by hotelier John Q. Hammons as part of a public-private partnership on city-owned land.
The hotel and convention center will help Concord draw larger conventions and sustain its rapidly-growing tourism industry. It will also benefit Rocky River Golf Club, which is one of the premier municipal courses in the state and ranked No. 77 in North Carolina’s top 100 courses.
"If I’m in town for a convention or a series of meetings and go back to my room and look out on the golf course, I’m going to want to play," said Jim Hipp, Concord’s assistant city manager. "And once people play Rocky River, they want to play it again. The quality is much higher than you would expect from a municipal golf course."
The hotel will feature all the standard amenities of an Embassy Suites, including 310 guest suites. Rocky River head golf professional Floyd Gragg is already feeling the positive effects of the course’s new neighbor.
"I have received a contact wanting to book a golf event along with a convention. This lady was very excited about bringing her company’s convention to the Concord area," Gragg said. "And we expect that hotel guests who are not convention traffic will want to play golf."
Gragg said the biggest impact of the hotel may be the number of weekday rounds it generates at Rocky River, which already receives strong play on Fridays and weekends.
Another positive effect for the course, which opened in 1997 and is managed by Signet Golf Associates of Pinehurst, is the availability of stay-and-play options for out-of-town golfers.
"By pairing a first-class golf course with a luxury hotel, you immediately create a golfing destination," said Barry Embler, president of Signet Golf Associates. "Then when you add in the proximity to Lowe’s Motor Speedway and Concord Mills, you’ve really got something special."
For information on Rocky River Golf Club, visit www.rockyrivergolf.com.
Contact:
Craig Distl
(704) 377-8622
