TRUMBULL COUNTY Avalon Lakes, Squaw Creek combine, plan for expansion

VIENNA -- Avalon Lakes Golf Course and Squaw Creek Country Club are combining into one club under a new agreement.
The two groups finalized the deal Tuesday after reaching an agreement in principle in August. The deal is effective Nov. 1.
Squaw Creek members will retain ownership of the Vienna course but will lease it to Avalon Lakes for 50 years, with Avalon Lakes being the management company.
Rent is valued at $150,000 a year but would be made in the form of club improvements at Squaw Creek. A $3 million improvement and expansion project will begin in a few weeks and should be completed by May, said Ron Klingle, chairman of Avalon Holdings, the parent company of Avalon Lakes, which is in Howland.
Expansion
Squaw Creek's ballroom will be expanded, and its dining areas will be improved. An addition will be built for a new pro shop, snack bar and other facilities.
Members will be allowed to play either course. Avalon Lakes has 600 members now, and Klingle said he expects the deal to add at least a couple hundred more members.
Avalon is offering four options for memberships. Two options allow free play at either course for $3,000 a year for one person or $4,000 a year for a family.
Dale Damioli, Squaw Creek president, said the club was starting to face financial problems because of declining membership. He said he expects all of the club's 145 members to join the new combined club.