2 News is learning more about the abrupt closure of a popular Jenks attraction, GolfSuites.
2 News first reported the employees learned about the closing through a group chat on April 22.
WATCH our initial coverage:
Muscogee Creek Nation evicts GolfSuites from Jenks Riverwalk
In a statement, Onefire, a business enterprise of the Muskogee (Creek) Nation, said the eviction was due to GolfSuites not fulfilling their lease agreement.
GolfSuites spokesperson Wendy La Torre said the company was going to need to invest millions of dollars to fix problems with the property that occurred prior to them signing the lease.
According to La Torre, they wanted to buy the property from Muscogee Creek Nation or at least have more ownership.
That issue turned into court mediation.
La Torre said they started to get the inclination that Muscogee (Creek) Nation just wanted the property from them.
She said they asked to wait until the end of 2024 so they had time to look for another Tulsa property, and could keep staff members employed. Instead, she said they got blindsided.
“It’s in the tribal nations court which is not the same as the U.S. courts and we thought we were prevailing, and we did not find out until Monday night that we were going to have to be out,” she said. On April 23, staff members found out GolfSuites had shut down.
La Torre said they retained some management staff and are still pursuing a new location in Tulsa.
La Torre maintains that GolfSuites did not breach its lease agreement and believes Muscogee (Creek) Nation has other plans.
“I think they can make a lot of money with something else on that property,” she said. “I mean, we are property owners, too, it makes sense you can make a lot more money from something that has a lot more density than what we can bring to them. And we had a 45 year lease.”
2 News has heard from sources close to the situation at Riverwalk Crossing in Jenks who fear businesses are being pushed out. Two additional businesses have closed there. The property manager would not confirm if additional businesses are expected to close.
According to court documents, Onefire was seeking eviction due to failure to pay rent. In the documents, GolfSuites alleged that it had justifications for not paying the full rent, including the ongoing litigation over fixing property.
One problem at issue was the damaged turf that GolfSuites claims occurred prior to them taking over the lease and due to the flood in May of 2019. Court documents stated the turf remediation would cost $1.3 million.
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