One bid for Blackthorn Golf Club moves forward in process

Of the three bids submitted to the Redevelopment Commission for Blackthorn Golf Club, only one is moving forward.

One of the bids was received after the deadline and the other didn't meet the minimum price of $1.6 million.

Acquisition Group, L.L.C. submitted the only bid that will be moving forward in the process.

Tim Firestone, the manager of Blackthorn, teamed up with the group to make sure the golf club is owned by people who are invested in the property and community.

Firestone has been working at Blackthorn since it opened in 1994 and says he wasn't ready to let it go.

"I have a lot of blood, sweat and tears in this property and I didn't want it to end and when I found out that the city was looking at disposing of the property I went to work and started looking for investors," said Firestone.

Firestone says he knows the club inside and out and there's one thing that is missing from the property - a hotel.

If his group wins the bid, they plan to build a 75-125 room hotel on 11 acres of the property.

"The one thing that I think we are missing in this area is a place where you can actually come spend the night, stay the night and have a stay and play vacation golf," said Firestone.

Firestone says it will draw more Midwest golfers to South Bend.

The bid has been sent to the city's legal department and there should be a response within the next 30 days.