Yacht club files for bankruptcy

Here’s a leading economic indicator:

In March, the Treasure Island Tennis and Yacht Club trumpeted the news that, after three years of construction, it had completed a multi-million-dollar expansion.

On Friday, the club filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The Treasure Island Tennis and Yacht Club, at 400 Treasure Island Causeway, was founded in 1971. Thirty years later its membership rolls topped 700 people and its list of benefactors included former ambassador Mel Sembler and former St. Petersburg mayor Corinne Freeman.

The club, which featured 15 tennis courts and a marina with 48 permanent slips, used to be housed in a two-story clubhouse that dated back to 1972. But in 2005 the club’s leaders wanted to expand, and that meant building a three-story structure that would include a banquet area to accommodate up to 350 people, something the old building lacked.

The $7.1-million club expansion included not just the banquet area but also a fitness center, a spa, and a massage area. But food costs soon mounted above what the club could pay.

In its bankruptcy filing, the club listed as its top three creditors SYSCO Food Services ($13,502), Brisk Coffee Co. ($6,110) and Greentree Linen Consultants ($2,951). Among the top 20 are beer and wine distributors, a pool service company and a landscaper.

[St. Petersburg Times photo by Scott Keeler] 

--Craig Pittman