NEW ORLEANS – Audubon Nature Institute is progressing with its phased recovery and will reopen The Golf Club at Audubon Park on Tuesday, June 2.
The golf course closed on Saturday, March 21, 2020 following with the City, State, and U.S. Center for Disease Control’s guidelines for safety during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Audubon Clubhouse Café will remain closed.
The Pro Shop will be open Tuesday through Sunday, 7:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Examples of safety measures include the following:
- 1 person per golf cart and a maximum of 4 people allowed in pro shop at one time
- Shared household members will be allowed to share a cart
- All staff members will be required to wear masks and gloves
- Increased sanitization schedule of golf carts and pro shop contact areas.
- Food and beverages will be limited
“Now, more than ever, our community needs parks and recreation,” said Audubon Nature Institute President and CEO Ron Forman. “We are eager to safely welcome visitors back to our facilities and programs through a carefully planned, phased approach.”
The golf course follows the reopening of Audubon Riverview Park (also known as the “Fly”) to vehicles and Audubon Tennis. Audubon Zoo is making plans to reopen in early June to limited capacity.
Since its closure, Audubon has lost an estimated 44% of this year’s self-generated operating revenue and was excluded from federal recovery funds due to its size.
Forman added, “We typically welcome 750,000 visitors over the summer months. We are estimating nearly an 80% decrease this year due to a number of factors including limited capacity, pausing groups and field trips and decreased tourism visitation.”
The public can join Audubon’s recovery effort by supporting the animals and parks in their care as Audubon staff work to sustain core operations and ensure the long-term viability of the organization. More information can be found here.
