In Oro Valley, Some Fairways Answer to the Town Council
November 12, 2026
November 12, 2026
In late 2019, Oro Valley's town manager wrote in Tucson Local Media about the two main homeowners associations around the Cañada and Conquistador courses. Both had offered money "to demonstrate support for this community asset and a willingness to put some skin in the game."
Neighbors paid to help keep a golf course open because the course belongs to the Town of Oro Valley, not to a club or a homeowners association. If you are looking at a home along the Conquistador, Cañada or Pusch Ridge courses, the open space outside your back wall is a municipal enterprise. Its future gets decided in public meetings, recorded in Town budgets, and in recent years settled by one-vote margins. Today it is also in better financial shape than at any point since the Town bought it.
The Town Council approved buying El Conquistador Country Club on December 17, 2014, for $1 million, according to the Town's announcement the next day. The Council also approved a half-cent sales tax dedicated to the Community & Recreation Center and related amenities. That sales tax pays the bills that come later.
From there, the courses survived a series of decisions:
Two of those votes came down to one seat. At a private club, a buyer would study the bylaws and the club's own finances. Here, that information sits in Council minutes and the Town budget, and both are public.
The money looks very different now than it did when those votes were taken. In its FY2025/26 budget, the Town reported that golf revenue had come to fully cover golf operating costs, and that memberships had reached record highs.
On April 8, 2026, the Council received a recreational amenities financial analysis. Explorer News reported that in FY2024/25 golf was the one major facility in the Town's recreation lineup that came out ahead:
| Facility, FY2024/25 | Expenditures | Revenue | Net operating result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Golf | $5.69 million | $6.4 million | $731,373 gain |
| Community and Recreation Center | $2.3 million | $1.58 million | $743,756 cost |
| Steam Pump Ranch | $675,323 | $115,519 | $559,803 cost |
Across all its major recreation properties that year, the Town spent $12.2 million and took in $8.99 million. Golf brought in $6.4 million of that revenue, and memberships and green fees made up more than $4.2 million of golf's share.
The following year was stronger. According to the FY2026/27 adopted budget, El Conquistador Golf ended FY2025/26 with 451 memberships, its highest year-end total, after peaking at 478 in February. It recorded 95,858 rounds, the second-highest total since the Town took ownership, and passed $6 million in total revenue for the first time. Pusch Ridge set its own records: 20,858 rounds, more than $700,000 in revenue, and net income $99,000 above the previous year's record. The October 2026 Town Manager's report counted 459 full memberships as of September 20, up from 435 at the end of September 2025.
The operating gain leaves out the most expensive part of owning a golf course. The April analysis counted only operating spending in the Parks and Recreation budget. It listed capital costs separately and did not factor in asset depreciation. The Town's 2024 study of Pusch Ridge reached a similar conclusion. Gross income could likely cover operating expenses, but it would not cover capital costs.
The Town's ten-year capital plan in the FY2026/27 budget shows what comes next. All of these items are paid from the Community Center Fund:
Operating costs are rising too. The FY2026/27 budget sets golf spending at $6,466,230, which is $602,593 above the FY2025/26 adopted figure. The Town attributes most of the increase to contractor labor, utilities, insurance and reallocated facility maintenance, and expects revenue growth to cover it. The golf enterprise-fund feasibility review, which looked at whether golf should run as its own self-supporting fund, was folded into the April analysis. According to the Town's FY27 first-quarter strategic update, a separate Council report on it is still to come.
For a buyer, course conditions over the next few years depend on capital items in a public budget, and the Council takes that budget up every year.
Public ownership also changes how you join. Indigo Golf Partners manages the courses for the Town, and the October 2026 report shows the operator marketing full-time and corporate memberships. The current El Conquistador Golf membership page lists the Conqueror Family membership at $575 a month and Conqueror Single at $390 a month. Every membership is a 12-month contract, and the page advertises "Zero Initiation Fees." Club cart plans are $150 a month for families and $100 a month for singles. Limited memberships are also available: Sunset at $185 a month, Weekender at $235 and Junior at $85.
That is a monthly-dues model, and owning a home on the course is not required to join. The other side of that arrangement is that living on the course does not give you a vote on how it is run. Those decisions sit with the Council and its contract with the operator. Membership terms are a contract between you and the club, so read the full agreement and confirm the details with the club before you sign. This post is general information, not legal or financial advice.
Living on a Town course comes with a predictable yearly schedule. Since 2026, Pusch Ridge has run as a disc golf course for part of the year. The Town's May 27, 2026 announcement set the disc golf season from May 30 to September 20, and the Town describes it as a limited-season recreation use, not a permanent conversion away from golf. The Town's October report expected golf to resume at Pusch Ridge in the last week of October.
The 36-hole complex overseeds one course at a time. This year the Conquistador Course was set to reopen on October 12, after which the Cañada course would close for three weeks of overseeding. Because one course was closed, no major outside tournaments were scheduled for October.
If you are buying along one of these fairways, these public documents tell you more than any listing sheet:
Who owns the courses behind homes in El Conquistador and along Pusch Ridge? The Town of Oro Valley owns them. The Council approved the acquisition in December 2014, the Town completed the purchase of the former El Conquistador Country Club in May 2015, and an outside contractor runs golf operations.
Is golf currently subsidized by the Town? Not on an operating basis. In FY2024/25, golf showed a $731,373 net operating gain. That figure does not include capital costs or depreciation, and the Town's capital plan funds upcoming course projects from the Community Center Fund.
Does owning a home on the course include a membership? No. Membership is sold separately on 12-month contracts, and El Conquistador Golf currently advertises no initiation fee.
Buying on a Town-owned course means reading budgets as closely as you read floor plans. If you are weighing a home along the Conquistador, Cañada or Pusch Ridge fairways and want help going through the Town's records alongside the property itself, Suzie Corona can walk you through both. Request a private consultation.
Get assistance in determining current property value, crafting a competitive offer, writing and negotiating a contract, and much more. Contact me today.