Press Release: Silver Companies
December 13, 2000
WASHINGTON, DC -- The Silver Companies announced yesterday that it has entered into a long-term land lease with
former PGA Tour Commissioner Deane Beman and former PGA of America President Gary Schaal to own and operate a 54-hole
public golf complex in Stafford County, Virginia. The courses will serve as an anchor to the 'Celebrate Virginia'
project that aims to make Fredericksburg Northern Virginia's hotbed for golf.
``We at the Silver Companies are honored that these two titans of the golf world are making such a significant
commitment to the 'Celebrate Virginia' project and to boosting the Commonwealth's stature in the golf world,''
said Larry Silver, President and CEO of the Silver Companies.
Silver hosted and emceed a press conference/luncheon today at the Palm Restaurant in Washington, D.C. to introduce
Beman and Schaal as partners of the project, and to unveil the name of the golf complex: Washington National at
Celebrate Virginia. Beman and Schaal discussed the project and fielded questions, and former Virginia Governor
and Senator-elect George Allen spoke about the project's economic impact on Virginia.
The complex will be built in a traditional style along the lines of the Pinehurst Club Resort in Pinehurst, N.C.,
surrounded by wooded areas and be free of homes and subdivisions that border many of today's modern courses. Parts
of the three picturesque courses will also overlook the Rappahannock River. It is expected that the complex will
be the largest public golf facility along the I-95 corridor north of Pinehurst.
``This is not only exciting project for golfers in the Washington and Mid- Atlantic area, but it will also be a
significant tourist attraction for the entire state of Virginia,'' said Beman.
Construction on two of the three courses is slated to begin by spring 2001 and those should be open by 2003. Greens
fees are expected to be around $50. Beman is responsible for the first of the 18-hole layouts and Bobby Weed, a
highly regarded golf course architect, will handle the other. The designer of the third course's layout has yet
to be determined.
Beman, a native of Bethesda, Md., is a five-time winner on the PGA Tour and a former U.S. Amateur and British Amateur
Champion. Beman was five years into his tenure as commissioner in 1979 when the Tour board approved his plan to
have the PGA Tour build a course in the swamplands of Ponte Vedra, Fla. The site, The Tour Players Club at Sawgrass,
is now home to the Tournament Players Championship, which is considered by most touring professionals as the fifth
major on the PGA Tour's annual schedule.
SOURCE: Silver Companies