"The value of 141 acres in West Austin, it frankly would be the largest historic preservation from a financial standpoint possibly ever," Ken Tiemann, chair of the Save Historic Muny District, said in March 2025. "It's complex, and I think the value of the land, nobody wants to make a mistake."
That was 18 months ago. On September 10, ACL Live at the Moody Theater filled with supporters of Lions Municipal Golf Course for the Muny Conservancy's fifth annual Imagine Muny gala. Tanya Tucker, Wade Bowen, Jack Ingram and Ray Benson's Asleep at the Wheel performed, and the evening met its $1 million fundraising goal. It was a big night for the course. The money it raised and the decision that will settle Muny's future are on two different scales, though, and the decision has a date fixed in state law.
What the Million Buys
West Austin News reported that the gala proceeds go straight to youth golf and course upkeep. It listed the projects by name. None of the reporting gives a completion date or a budget for any single item, so the table shows what has been named and what has been confirmed.
| Project | Published status as of October 2026 |
|---|---|
| Youth golf programs | Named as a recipient of gala proceeds |
| Scotland-inspired putting green | Named as an upkeep project, no schedule published |
| Driving range expansion | Named as an upkeep project, no schedule published |
| Fencing | Named as an upkeep project, no schedule published |
| Tree work | Named as an upkeep project, no schedule published |
| 18th-hole regrade | Named as an upkeep project, no schedule published |
The practice area has changed before. Ahead of the July 2024 Firecracker Open, KXAN reported that Muny opened an 8,000-square-foot putting green in place of the old 1,500-square-foot one. The 2026 reporting doesn't say whether the Scotland-inspired green is a second green or more work on that one.
Every item in the table works on the course as it exists today. None of them changes the routing, the clubhouse or the entrance.
What Waits on a Deal
Ben Crenshaw is a two-time Masters champion and Austin native who first played Muny as a boy of eight or nine, and he co-chairs the Muny Conservancy. His firm, Coore & Crenshaw, has drawn up a full restoration of the course and clubhouse. West Austin News reported that organizers see a long-term lease or a purchase as the step that "would unlock even bigger plans."
The Conservancy has published what the plan includes:
- A restored pre-1974 routing, which traces back to B.F. Rowe and World Golf Hall of Famers A.W. Tillinghast and Harvey Penick
- A new entrance on Lake Austin Boulevard
- An updated driving range with covered teaching bays, plus larger putting and chipping greens
- A renovated clubhouse with public gathering space and a museum on Lions' civil rights history and Austin's golf history
- A walking trail from Enfield Road to the clubhouse and Lake Austin Boulevard, with connections to the hike-and-bike trail
- Later, an entirely new clubhouse with a pro shop, meeting rooms, a bar and a restaurant
Coore & Crenshaw has said it will donate its time to lead the work. None of the sources show construction dates or an implementation phase for any of these elements.
A $1 million gala doesn't fund a project like this. The plan needs certainty about who will control 141 acres. The University of Texas owns the land, and the City of Austin leases it to run a public course. Community Impact reported in October 2025 that the city pays less than $500,000 a year and that the property has been appraised at more than $680 million. KXAN described the lease in 2024 as month-to-month, with five months' notice to end it. No one puts a new clubhouse on ground held under those terms.
The Clock Written Into State Law
The Save Historic Muny District was created to bridge that gap, and the Legislature has kept extending its life:
- 2019. Then-state Sen. Kirk Watson's SB 2553 created the district and gave it until May 2021 to work out preservation of the course.
- 2021. Lawmakers extended the deadline.
- 2023. Community Impact reported that lawmakers extended it again, to May 31, 2025.
- 2025. HB 2421 by Rep. Donna Howard passed the House 99 to 43 on April 29 and the Senate 28 to 3 on May 25. It took effect September 1, 2025.
- May 31, 2027. The district must dissolve by this date unless it has an agreement with the landowner. The agreement can provide for buying the land or for keeping it as a public golf course, public parkland or a mix of the two.
From today, that is eight months away. Community Impact reported that some lawmakers said this could be the district's final deadline. Howard called the process a "difficult negotiation" during a March 2025 House hearing. "I know that there's still a sincere effort to try to make this work," she said. "So we just need the extension of time to hopefully make sure that does happen."
The deadline also decides whether the district can raise money at all. Texas statutes say the district cannot levy taxes or assessments. The statute lets it contract with the city for revenue from utility fees, but only if it first reaches an agreement with the landowner before May 31, 2027. Voters would also have to approve the arrangement. Without a land deal, that revenue never becomes available.
The most recent public statements from the city and UT date to October 2025. A city spokesperson said discussions with UT were continuing. UT spokesperson Mike Rosen said the university still sees the property as an asset for its students: "As with all gifts entrusted to us, we will continue to strive to be good stewards of the Brackenridge land for the benefit of the current and future generations of students we serve." At this fall's gala, Conservancy executive director Julie Sayers gave a hopeful update on the UT talks. She said the conservancy very much wants "to be a part of the conversation" as UT weighs the property's future. No public agreement, terms or timeline has been announced.
What the District Is Doing in the Meantime
The district's own records show how its budget compares with the land in question. At the January 16, 2026 meeting, held in the Penick Room at the course, Tiemann reported $62,190.14 in the general checking account. He also reported that Cisco's, the on-site concession, had $51,308.02 in gross sales for December, which paid the district a profit share of $5,130.80. At its May 30, 2025 meeting, the board approved transferring $113,970.77 in concession proceeds to the city for course infrastructure and equipment. At that scale, the district can pay for improvements but has no way to buy a $680 million property.
The same January meeting shows the board putting its attention on what Muny stands for. The board voted 5 to 0 to support a Texas Golf Hall of Fame proposal for a future anchor site at Lions Municipal. Board member Andrea McWilliams suggested gathering community input, and vice chair Brian Greig suggested coordinating with UT. Board member Volma Overton III led a discussion of commemorative tee-box markers or signs, which could draw on Save Muny's earlier Legends of Lions project. The board also heard that someone had filed a State Antiquities Landmark nomination for the course without the board's knowledge or support, and it took no action on that item.
Those projects build on history the course already has on record. Muny is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. An Austin City Council resolution draft dates its desegregation to spring 1951 and calls it the South's first desegregated municipal golf course. The Conservancy's history says two Black youths first played there in late 1950. The two accounts may be describing the first play and the later formal city action. The restoration plan's proposed museum would tell that story inside the clubhouse. Markers on the tee boxes could tell it now, whatever happens with the lease.
Beyond golf, West Austin News noted that the 141 acres sit atop a water recharge zone and shelter wildlife and hundreds of heritage oak and pecan trees.
On the Course This Fall
The Muny Conservancy calendar lists these closures for the rest of the year:
- Tuesday, October 6 through Wednesday, October 7: full course closed for overseeding
- Monday, October 19: closed for maintenance, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Monday, November 16: closed for maintenance, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Monday, December 21: closed for maintenance, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The overseeding is the kind of work the gala money keeps going. The putting green, range, fencing, trees and 18th hole fall into the same category. All of it can happen under a lease that can end with five months' notice. A new entrance on Lake Austin Boulevard, the restored routing and the clubhouse museum can't happen until UT and the people trying to save the course sign a written agreement, and the Legislature has set May 31, 2027 as the date for it.
The Lewis Group follows the issues that shape daily life in Tarrytown, and Muny's future is one of the biggest of them. If you'd like to talk about what the May 2027 deadline could mean for West Austin, Lewis Group is glad to share what we're watching. Contact Us.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
