The City of Dorval and Aéroports de Montréal signed a 15-year agreement Thursday to preserve the operation of Golf Dorval at Trudeau airport. On the putting green area, a table was set-up so the documents could be signed by ADM president Yves Beauchamp and Dorval Mayor Marc Doret. “What we’re getting today is a guarantee that we’re going to be here for another 15 years, which is fantastic,” said Doret. “We’ll be able to upgrade our facilities. More importantly, it’s going to give some permanence to the community because now people are very worried about what’s going to happen with the expansion at the airport,” he added. Beauchamp said that until now, the lease was renewed every year. Golfers rejoiced at the news, expressing their excitement to keep one of the last public courses on the Island of Montreal. Beauchamp says the ADM was eyeing the area as a place to generate more power by installing solar panels, but that “is not needed in the short and medium time.” The golfers regularly have to play through the sound of planes flying overhead, but they still welcome the reprieve. The green space will remain a public place until 2040. Beauchamp says after that, things might change. “This land here, we might develop it one day, but for the next 15 years, it’s secure,” he said. Non-golfers take note — winter activities on the course, such as snow-shoeing and skiing, will be maintained and expanded. “Things that we can develop now with our leisure program at the city of Dorval will be more interesting for the public and get them out into this beautiful property,” said Doret.
