Muny Looks the Same as Ever. Its Lease Runs Five Months at a Time.

Lions Municipal Golf Course has been part of Tarrytown since 1924, and from the outside very little about it has changed in years. Tee times still fill up, the oaks still shade the fairways, and the city still posts its green fees. The legal ground under those 141 acres is a different story. In August 2026, the Austin Business Journal reported that the City of Austin and the University of Texas remain on five-month rolling leases and that the course's future is "still uncertain." The state district created to help preserve the course is scheduled to dissolve on May 31, 2027. That date is about seven and a half months away, and lawmakers have suggested they may not extend it again.

Taken together, those two facts leave the course on the shortest footing it has had in decades. It is happening at the same moment the main advocacy group has changed what it is asking for.

Why the Land Was Never Simple

Muny sits on part of the Brackenridge Tract, a 500-acre parcel owned by UT. Golfweek reports that the city has leased the course from the university since 1936 and pays roughly $500,000 a year. Community Impact described the rent in October 2025 as less than $500,000 a year. The same report said the property is now appraised at more than $680 million and is one of several UT holdings that came from an early-1900s land gift requiring the sites to benefit the university.

The city's yearly payment is less than one-tenth of one percent of the land's appraised value. UT has a duty to steward the gift for its students, and university spokesperson Mike Rosen told Community Impact that UT "will continue to strive to be good stewards of the Brackenridge land for the benefit of the current and future generations of students we serve." The course's historic standing is also real. Community Impact noted that Muny is nationally recognized as one of the South's first desegregated golf courses. A 2021 city rezoning effort meant to set standards for possible development on UT's tracts stalled out, and that left the two sides negotiating without a framework.

A Deadline That Keeps Moving, Until It May Not

The Save Historic Muny District was created in 2019 through legislation from then-state Sen. Kirk Watson. Its job was to work with other entities on preserving the course, and its original deadline was May 2021. Here is how the clock has moved since then:

According to Community Impact, some lawmakers said the 2027 date could be the district's last. Howard described the yearslong process as a "difficult negotiation" during a March 2025 Texas House hearing. "I know that there's still a sincere effort to try to make this work. So we just need the extension of time to hopefully make sure that that does happen," she said. District chair Ken Tiemann gave the same outlet a sense of scale: "The value of 141 acres in West Austin, it frankly would be the largest historic preservation from a financial standpoint possibly ever."

So the leases now run five months at a time, and the district has roughly a season and a half of lease terms left before its scheduled end.

The Conservancy Moved Toward a Lease

For years the private effort led by Ben Crenshaw and Scotty Sayers aimed for the biggest possible outcome, which was buying the land from UT at fair market value. Golfweek reported in September 2026 that as Austin land values climbed, that goal "became increasingly difficult to achieve." The Muny Conservancy has since moved toward working more closely with the university on maintenance and stewardship while pushing for long-term lease negotiations.

That shift changes what a good outcome looks like. A long lease is a much smaller ask than $680 million, and it is something the city and UT could actually sign. It also means Muny's future rests more on the terms the city and the university agree to than on how much money supporters raise.

Purchase has not disappeared from the Conservancy's own materials. Its donation page still says it is raising money to buy and renovate the course, so the shift Golfweek describes is one of emphasis, and the page shows ownership remains a stated aim. The same page lists other uses for gifts: long-term oak preservation, scholarships for the Austin Junior Golf Academy, and urgent course needs.

What a Million Dollars Is For Now

Imagine Muny 5 took place on Thursday, September 10, 2026, at ACL Live at the Moody Theater. According to Golfweek, it passed its $1 million fundraising goal with a lineup that included Tanya Tucker, Jack Ingram, Wade Bowen, Asleep at the Wheel, Dale Watson and The Copa Kings. Crenshaw spoke about the course in personal terms.

"It's right in the heart of the city. But it binds this city. And it's the most peaceful place. It's really an oasis."

Sayers told KXAN that the money was "to improve the course and keep it looking like it's going to be there another hundred years." No published source breaks down how the 2026 proceeds will be spent. Tribeza described what the Conservancy hopes to do if the course is permanently preserved:

• Work with the design firm Coore & Crenshaw to restore the course and improve public facilities
• Protect all 141 acres and keep golf affordable
• Build a teaching center honoring the people involved in Muny's desegregation

Every item on that list depends on the word "permanently." A course on five-month terms can be maintained and improved at the edges, but a full restoration is the kind of project that waits for a long lease.

The Small Money Runs Through the Snack Bar

The state district has a separate and much smaller income stream. Under its concession arrangement, it gets a share of the food and beverage vendor's net revenue at the course. In fiscal year 2025 that share came to $88,106, and the contract limits its use to course infrastructure improvements or equipment upgrades and replacements. At the district's January 16, 2026 meeting, Tiemann reported that Cisco's grossed $51,308.02 in December, which produced a profit share of $5,130.80.

The same minutes show the district looking ahead. Members voted 5–0 to support a proposed Texas Golf Hall of Fame anchor site at Muny. They also discussed commemorative tee-box markers or signs as a possible district-funded project, subject to Parks approval. The district's July 31, 2026 meeting was cancelled.

Playing It This Fall

None of this changes what a round costs today. The city's fee schedule, in effect since October 1, 2025, lists these regular rates at Muny:

Sunset rounds are $28 and junior rounds are $20. Senior rates are $27 on weekdays and $34 on Fridays. The city's Muny page says the driving range closes at 1 p.m. on Mondays "until further notice." The two city pages list different prices for a large bucket of range balls, $10 on one and $11 on the other. Both list a small bucket at $7.

The Conservancy also holds events outside the gala. Its 19th Hole Party in May 2026 was meant to build awareness. Incoming executive director Shannon Provost told KXAN it was "a great opportunity to celebrate a green space in Austin that has been around since 1924."

The next fixed date is May 31, 2027. Before then, the city and UT will either agree on longer lease terms, or the Legislature will be asked once more to extend a district whose 2027 date some lawmakers have called its last. Public reporting through mid-October 2026 has not confirmed either.

If you'd like to talk through how the Muny lease talks could affect your street or a home near the course, Matt Richard is glad to share what he's watching on the Brackenridge land. Let's Connect.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.