Creek Nation District Court awards OneFire $5.1 million for lease breach from GolfSuites; Fountainhead remains closed
Onefire Holding Company, LLC, a wholly owned Muscogee (Creek) Nation subsidiary, secured a judgment against former Riverwalk Crossing tenant, GolfSuites Tulsa, LLC, in the amount of $5,155,111.01 for breach of its lease agreement with Onefire.
GolfSuites was evicted from Riverwalk Crossing on April 23, 2024 by order of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation District Court. The judgement, made on Sept. 6, 2024, determined the monetary obligations owed by GolfSuites to Onefire as a result of their breach of lease.
In a statement, OneFire said that “beginning in December 2022, Onefire Holding Company made efforts to work with GolfSuites to maintain their tenancy, but ultimately, their inability to fulfill their lease obligations left Onefire with no option but to pursue eviction. In November 2023, due to GolfSuites’ noncompliance with the lease terms, Onefire was compelled to file a lawsuit in the Nation’s District Court seeking to recover possession of the leased property and fulfillment of outstanding financial obligations.
“Onefire made countless efforts to maintain GolfSuites as a tenant of the Riverwalk and to be a great partner. Despite our best efforts, we were forced to move forward,” said Onefire’s Interim CEO Debbie Severson. “I’m pleased with the Court’s judgement, and I look forward to future partnerships and developments at our premiere community-forward and family-friendly destination.”
Gerald Ellenburg, the chairman and CEO of Golfsuites, Inc., said Monday the judgement was against Golfsuites, Tulsa LLC., which he said has no assets, and not the parent company, implying that there would no payments forthcoming.
“I decided to do a consent judgement, which avoids a bunch of trial work,” Ellenburg said. “I didn’t want me or my legal counsel to appear in their court, we judged it wasn’t a safe thing to do legally and we just decided to end the case.”
Ellenburg admitted when GolfSuites was shut down that it was behind on its lease payments but still maintains the two entities should have been able to work out an agreement to keep moving forward.
“If you add the judgement to what we were paying monthly it would be over 32 percent of gross income just in rent and you can’t operate like that,” he said.
Fountainhead Creek Golf Course closed
The Fountainhead Creek Golf Course in Checotah leased by the Muscogee Creek Nation from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been closed for three months and no details have been forthcoming from the tribe as to whether it will be repaired and reopened or not.
The Bermuda greens at the course had been largely dead for more than a year before the tribe shut the course with a Facebook post stating the course was closed until further notice for maintenance and repairs. Multiple efforts to reach tribal leaders to clarify their plans for the course have gone unanswered.
Fountainhead Creek, designed in 1965 by Oklahoma Golf Hall of Fame inductee Floyd Farley, was long part of the Oklahoma state park golf course system and had a lodge. It was leased to the Muskogee Creek Nation in 2008 and the lodge was subsequently demolished. There was speculation the tribe would build a casino and invest significantly in the golf course, which is on the shores of Lake Eufala. It did put in new Champion Bermuda greens which opened in 2018. Many of the greens suffered from winter kill in the past few winters and have not been repaired.
