CITY OF ALAMEDA VS. GREENWAY GOLF
Corica Park: A Public Space Worth Fighting For
A TRANSFORMED PUBLIC ASSET: Corica Park was rebuilt to serve everyone. Since 2012, locally owned Greenway Golf has redeveloped and operated the municipal golf course, transforming it into a nationally recognized community asset. With new investment in 2020, that mission grew: expand access, create opportunity, and open the doors wider than ever.
Today, Corica Park delivers tens of thousands of hours of open green space access to the entire community including: free golf for youth, jobs and mentorship for underserved teens and free use of communal gathering spots for 80+ nonprofits and schools.
NOW IT’S UNDER THREAT: In 2022, the City moved to take the golf course back—filing a lawsuit that puts all of this at risk. Why? Because expanding access meant challenging long-standing privilege.
AT STAKE: This isn’t just about a golf course. It’s about who public spaces are for. A small group wants to turn back the clock and stop the forward progress that is challenging long-standing patterns of use and opening up the space to the entire community it is meant to serve.
Trial begins May 18, 2026.
During the last five years…
-
THE CITY OF ALAMEDA HAS:
Likely spent over $2 million in taxpayer dollars on legal fees for its false claims against Greenway Golf.
Exchanged 50+ letters, violation notices and default notices with Greenway without ever attempting informal resolution through meeting and discussion.
Rejected Greenway's offer two times for an independent audit to ease concerns about lease obligations.
Consistently cited just four specific people out of Alameda's 75,000+ residents to substantiate its claims of an “unprecedented” number of complaints about Greenway Golf.
Failed twice to dismiss Greenway’s serious counterclaims, with a trial set for May 18, 2026.
-
GREENWAY GOLF HAS:
Contributed over $2 million in rent payments to the City’s general fund while employing 50+ people at Corica Park.
Served an average of 400 golf patrons daily, totaling an average of 100,000 rounds annually.
Delivered 18 new North Course holes—the focal point of the City's lawsuit—and garnered national awards and recognition for the redevelopment.
Provided 70,000+ individual hours of FREE OUTDOOR RECREATION and welcomed 80+ new nonprofits, community groups and schools to participate in free Corica Park programs.
Met or exceeded all 2024 & 2025 Annual Plan milestones while preparing for trial to defend against the City's baseless claims and pursue justice for its own counterclaims.
The Facts
City Staff used municipal government apparatus in an attempt to manufacture a material default of the lease & confiscate Corica Park from the new owners of Greenway Golf.
The City’s Recreation & Parks Director at the time, Amy Wooldridge, testified in deposition that she KNEW some of the violations she cited were UNTRUE. She admitted that City staff decided to “PURSUE” them anyway to “LEAN IN” and see what would happen.
The City leveraged unsubstantiated complaints of a handful of political friends to sow fear and mistrust in Greenway’s new owners and support their campaign.
After stating for the record that he had serious concerns about Greenway Golf’s financial health at a public Golf Commission meeting, the City’s Golf Commission Chair, Ed Downing, admitted in deposition that questioning the solvency of a company or individual could create reputational damage.
To date, the original City Council members who voted for litigation have provided no valid justification for escalating any differences to legal action.
Deposition testimony revealed that despite their ongoing claim that they did everything in their power to avoid litigation, Council members took little to no action to investigate the facts before voting to file a lawsuit.
In their efforts to confiscate the Corica Park lease, City Council & City Staff treated new Greenway ownership differently and with bias.
