Bally’s Golf Links at Ferry Point is owned by the City of New York and operated by Bally’s Corporation. The land is public parkland held by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, and Bally’s runs the course under a 20-year license agreement that runs through 2035. Bally’s bought the operating rights from the Trump Organization in September 2023 for a reported $60 million.
The City Owns the Land
Ferry Point Park is city parkland, and the 222-acre golf course sits on a portion of it. The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation holds title to the property and has never sold it. Under Chapter 21 of the New York City Charter, the Parks Commissioner is responsible for managing all parks, public places, playgrounds, and recreational properties within the city’s jurisdiction.
The Charter also gives the Commissioner authority to enter into arrangements with private companies for the performance of recreation functions. That legal power is the foundation for allowing a for-profit operator on public land. The city does not lease the property in the traditional real estate sense. It grants a license, a more limited form of permission that keeps the city in control of the underlying asset.
Bally’s Corporation Operates the Course
Bally’s Corporation is a casino and entertainment company that owns and operates 19 casinos across 11 states, along with the Ferry Point golf course and a horse racetrack in Colorado. The golf course sits inside the company’s Casinos and Resorts segment. Bally’s background is in gaming and large-scale entertainment venues rather than golf course management, which makes its role here unusual on its own terms.
As the license holder, Bally’s handles everything a golfer interacts with: tee time bookings, clubhouse operations, course maintenance, food and beverage service, and staffing. It is the public face of the facility and bears responsibility for meeting the financial and operational benchmarks the city set in the license agreement.
How Bally’s Replaced the Trump Organization
The course opened in 2015 as Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point, run by Trump Ferry Point LLC under a license agreement signed in February 2012 during the Bloomberg administration. The Trump Organization operated the course for roughly eight years.
After the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, then-Mayor Bill de Blasio declared the city’s intention to sever all business ties with the Trump Organization. City Council members followed in 2022 by calling for the golf course license to be revoked. Rather than face a contested removal, the Trump Organization sold its operating rights to Bally’s in September 2023. Every visible trace of the Trump brand has since been stripped from the property, and the course now operates as Bally’s Golf Links at Ferry Point.
What the License Agreement Requires
The original license is a 20-year deal running through 2035. When Bally’s acquired the operating rights, it stepped into the existing agreement rather than negotiating a new one with the city. The $60 million Bally’s paid went to the Trump Organization for the transfer, not to the city.
Under the financial terms, the operator pays the city either a fixed annual fee or a percentage of gross revenue, whichever is greater. The fixed fee escalates over the life of the license, and the revenue-sharing percentage also increases in later years, so the city earns more as the course matures. The operator owes the city a percentage of any sublicense revenue as well, such as income from food vendors or event concessions operating on the premises. Falling behind on these payments or missing financial benchmarks could put the license at risk.
Because the course sits on public parkland, the license also requires discounted rates for New York City residents, who qualify by showing a valid government-issued photo ID with a city address. Even at the resident price, the course is one of the most expensive municipal golf experiences in the country, which has been a point of ongoing tension given the public ownership of the land.
Why a Casino Company Runs a Bronx Golf Course
Bally’s interest in a Bronx golf course makes more sense alongside the company’s larger ambition: one of three downstate New York casino licenses. In December 2025, the New York Gaming Facility Location Board unanimously voted to select the Bally’s Bronx proposal for licensure by the Gaming Commission. The proposed casino and resort complex would be built on Ferry Point Park land adjacent to the existing golf course.
The golf course gave Bally’s an operational foothold in the Bronx and a physical presence on the site, which likely strengthened its casino bid. The proposal has drawn opposition from environmental groups, who note it would convert at least 15 acres of waterfront parkland from public use to private commercial development. Whether the full casino project moves forward depends on final Gaming Commission approval, local zoning compliance, and sign-off from a Community Advisory Committee.