BATON ROUGE - You might have heard it; there's a lot of chatter surrounding a historical golf course in the heart of the city. Some are concerned that groups are trying to change City-Brooks Park from what they know and love. Others think the location presents a prime opportunity for growth. 

City-Brooks Community Park was formed in 2008 and holds 154 acres of amenities featuring a swimming pool, splash pad, tennis courts, croquet, dog park, playground, trails, and a 9-hole golf course. The area is also home to the Knock Knock Children's Museum and the Baton Rouge Gallery.

For years, there has been discussion about changing the footprint of the golf course. It's something that Friends of City Park have fought hard to preserve. Mitch Evans is on the advisory committee for Friends of City Park and has been enjoying golf at City Park since he started playing the game.

Over the years, Evans has taught others how to play, including his own children. He's made life-long friends on the fairways. But lately, his heart is heavy.

"I'm worried about losing the golf course," Evans said.

He's worried about his beloved course being minimized.

"Mostly, I'm worried about the people who live out here who have never been talked to," he said.

Like Thomas Bryan, who moved across the street from City Park eight years ago. He's been enjoying the park for much longer than that.

"I started taking my son out here when he was five. I would come after work," Bryan said.

Bryan's son played competitive golf at Catholic High School. His daughter, Amelia Bryan, started playing golf during college and now plays with her friends at City Park. 

"I like playing golf because it keeps me active and also it's something I can do with my friends and family," Amelia Bryan said.

The Bryans want more people to be aware of what's being discussed about the park's future. That's why they printed and distributed 100 signs to their neighbors. Those signs say "Keep City Park Golf Course intact," and include an email address to BREC commissioners and a QR code that links to a website. The site provides individual emails to the 11 BREC commissioners and a link to a survey about the park. 

"It gets conversations going," said Thomas Bryan.

The signs are in response to groups who have other ideas about the park, which include visions to grow or change the park's footprint.

"I think we deserve world-class amenities," said Baton Rouge Area Foundation CEO Chris Meyer. 

Meyer says an opportunity awaits for a Baton Rouge Central Park. 

"If I had my druthers, golf would be there, but it would be something that I can't get anywhere else, because there are so many other golf courses in this community that are frankly doing better in revenue," said Meyer.

On a nice day, the course is packed. Lessons are offered by people like Andrew Nelson of Mind Body Swing. On Friday, Nelson was teaching a couple of young beginners. 

"It's important to learn young because it's a game you can play forever," said Nelson. 

Almost every day the course is filled with golfers of various skill levels. Yet, Baton Rouge has steadily been losing golf holes over the past two decades. BREC alone has repurposed 36-holes at Howel, Dumas, and J.S. Clark Parks. LSU's 18-hole golf course is closing in May. Around these closings, the sport continues to grow in popularity. 

Mike Raby, PGA, is the Director of Golf at BREC and knows the sport and operation well. 

"I know that golf play here has tripled since 2018," he said.

At City Park, there were 9,000 rounds played in 2018. That number has steadily increased, and in 2025, there were over 28,000 rounds played at the course last year. Golfers can play 9-holes with a cart for $22. 

"This is probably the best golf value in America right now," said Evans.

Even so, the course hasn't received many upgrades. Raby says the greens at City Park show their age. While a couple of them have been redone, the majority are original. That means old: City Park was built in 1926 and opened for play in 1928.

Pete Davis is on the Board of Directors for Friends of City Park and says, "They need to put money back into this golf course."

But first, BREC is spending $600,000 to hire Boston-based consultant Sasaki to research a unified master plan and governance structure for City-Brooks Park and University Lakes. Sasaki is already very familiar with the University Lakes project, having created a master design to transform the lakes. The Baton Rouge Area Foundation is focusing on what comes next, after the University Lakes dredging wraps up at the end of the year.

"And who is best suited to govern a park and lake setting like, that so it's not just one of hundreds of parks in the BREC portfolio, and so it's not something that three different owners are trying to figure out who maintains the grass, but it's something really special, and we treat it as such," said Meyer.

The discussion has spooked a lot of people.

"We're going to fight to the end," said Davis.

Davis and Evans are following in Lillie Gallagher's footsteps, who was the founder of Friends of City Park. When the historic golf course faced redevelopment, she led a community effort to preserve its layout and community use. Gallagher died last year at the age of 88.

"We need this course now more than ever," said Evans.

Ongoing projects, including plans to build a new Contemporary Art Gallery and the University Lakes project, have put the spotlight on cohesion. A survey to gather community input closed in February with 1,084 participants. Those participants skew toward higher-income households and are predominantly white and younger than the overall parish demographics. In terms of golf, the majority of respondents, 37%, said to keep golf as it is, 23% said to maintain golf while adding other park uses, and 27% said to adjust golf areas to create space for additional park programs.  

Sasaki recommends keeping golf as a program, but shrinking the footprint. There are a lot of ideas for the park, including an amphitheater, coffee shop, restaurant, improved crossings, multi-use paths, and connectivity. The survey reopened in March, seeking more input, specifically from younger park visitors.

"Getting input from those people that are going to be using it 20 years from now, 30 years from now, is important," said Raby.

While City Park was formally rededicated as City-Brooks Community Park in 2008, Brooks Park on the opposite side of Dalrymple Drive remains largely undeveloped. Park visitors say there is opportunity there and elsewhere.

"All without touching the footprint of the course," said Thomas Bryan.

Ultimately, the decision of what to do rests with BREC commissioners. While some commissioners say reinvestment is needed, others want change. BREC Commissioner and Central Mayor Wade Evans says he has been getting a lot of emails.

"But the reality is, we owe it to the parish to go in with an open mind," said Wade Evans.

Commissioner Mike Polito is asking the community to let the process develop.

"There is no predetermined answer," said Polito. "The only thing that is predetermined is we want to be bold, excellent, and visionary for the entire parish."

BREC says they take every conversation seriously, while acknowledging its golf courses are as busy as they can be. BREC is also clearing the air.

"BREC is not at risk of losing control of anything that they don't want to lose control of," said Raby.

Golfers like Mitch Evans, who plays at City Park often, are holding tight to the course they love. They hope it survives this latest curveball as it has survived attempts at change in the years past.

BREC has four other golf courses, including J.S. Clark, Webb Memorial, Santa Maria, and Beaver Creek.

The survey closes on April 17. Officials plan to hold a couple of community meetings in the near future. One is scheduled for April 22 at a location yet to be determined.