Golf and gambling have never been high on New York’s long list of attractions.
Now these two pursuits are destined to attract visitors to the same Big Apple property.
On Monday, the New York Gaming Commission CLUE a gaming license for Bally’s to build a hotel-casino in Ferry Point Park in the Bronx, a city-owned site that is home to a Jack Nicklaus-Designed links-style course formerly operated by President Donald Trump’s company. (The commission also approved two other casino project proposals, both in Queens: Metropolitan Park near Citi Field and the further development of Resorts World in South Ozone Park.)
The Bally development will be of particular interest to golfers given that the now-approved $4 billion gaming and hospitality complex will appear at the south end of the course. Plans call for a casino, 23-story, 500-room hotel, convention and event center and retail space.
“At the intersection of the three wings of the structure is a curved sky bridge, topped with a wide landscaped terrace, and additional green roofs are featured that cover the rest of the stepped obstacles.” New York YIMBY reported in July. “Meandering curbs and a redesigned vehicular entrance at the north end of the property are also visible.”
Ferry Point, which sits in the shadows of the Whitestone Bridge, is known for its views of the New York City skyline and clean, rolling, fescue-lined streets you’d sooner expect to find in Bandon than the Bronx. In 2022, the property it was the site of the Aramco Team Series, a Ladies European Tour event sponsored by Saudi Arabia, which was won by Lexi Thompson.
The course was first given the green light in 2000 by then-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, with the goal of opening in 2003. But environmental hurdles and a growing budget stymied development. After years of mismanagement, the city, in 2012, granted a 20-year operating license to the Trump Organization. The course opened three years later.
In 2021, in the wake of the January 6 uprising, Trump’s connection to Ferry Point became a flashpoint for many New Yorkers, prompting then-Mayor Bill DeBlasio to terminate the Trump Organization’s contract—a decision that a judge overturned, returning the contract to Trump. In September 2023, Bally paid the Trump Organization $60 million to take over the license to the site, an agreement that runs until 2035. By January 2024, the property had been renamed Bally’s Golf Links at Ferry Point.
“This is another step in making the Bronx a global destination,” Borough Vice President Janet Peguero said at the time.
Approval of the casino license unlocks another payment for the Trump Organization. According to New York Timesthe original purchase agreement between Bally’s and the Trump Organization stated that if a gaming license was approved after the sale date, Bally’s would pay Trump’s company an additional $115 million.
“When they first proposed (the deal), I said, ‘what the hell?'” Bally’s chairman Soo Kim said THE Times. “They’re already getting a lot of money for a golf course. What do they think it’s worth? But they know what it’s worth to me and to us and to the Bronx.”
