In 1966, The Links at Victoria Golf Course in Carson became the first golf course in the area to be built atop a former hazardous waste landfill.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors began accepting bids for the new regulation 18-hole course on 177 acres of land in October 1964, and it opened to golfers in April 1966. Prolific Los Angeles golf architect William F. Bell designed the course.
Years earlier, on July 2, 1948, the County had authorized the Ben A. Kazarian Disposal Company to begin operating a landfill accepting industrial and municipal waste where Victoria now sits. Landfill magnate Kazarian later changed the name of his firm to the Ben K. Kazarian Co., which became known informally as BKK.
BKK would gain its greatest notoriety for operating one of the largest landfills in the state in West Covina for 33 years before its closure in 1996. In 2007, the city finally acquired the land after BKK shut the site, which had been accepting hazardous waste for years.
The BKK landfill on which Victoria Golf Course sits operated until 1959. It was bounded by M.L.K. Jr. St. (formerly East 192nd St.) on the north, Avalon Blvd. on the east, Del Amo Blvd. on the southeast, the Dominguez Channel on the south, and South Main St. on the west. In addition to the golf course, it included the land on which the Goodyear Blimp base operates.
Kazarain also operated the landfill south of the 405 Freeway that has remained undeveloped for decades after it closed in 1965. For years, an outlet mall was planned for that site, and construction actually began on it in 2019 before the deal fell apart.
Before moving to Sofi Stadium in Inglewood, the Rams seriously considered building their new stadium there. The 18-hole, par-3 Dominguez Golf Course on the site closed in 2012 to make way for the Porsche Experience Center auto test track facility.
Across the freeway at Victoria, golfers began to notice that the grass in the fairways never seemed to fill in, and what little there was more brown than green. Sinkholes began to appear, resulting in a wildly uneven landscape. Los Angeles Times writer Fred Robledo noted in a 1993 story that the course “would be better served for use by all-terrain vehicles instead of golf carts.”
Its groundskeepers fought a losing battle against the underground elements for years. Golfers liked that they could almost always get a tee time at Victoria, but once on the ragged links, their complaints would begin to increase.
Finally, in 1999, the County approved a major renovation at the struggling course, authorizing $7 million to add new layers of soil, improve fairways and landscaping, and refurbish its buildings.
The remake was completed in March 2001. Both public officials and golfers felt that the newly renovated course would become one of the County’s most popular layouts due to the positive changes.
But problems stemming from the landfill beneath continued. In 2006, the California Dept. of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) began monitoring in the area, including at nearby Towne Elementary School, to check for high levels of methane gas from the landfill.
Detectors had been placed at Towne in 1998 to monitor methane levels in classrooms after students and teachers complained about asthma symptoms, rashes and headaches. In 2007, the DTSC determined that methane levels in the area were safe.
Sadly, the golf course never could overcome its problematic playing conditions despite the 2001 makeover. It remained one of the County’s lowest-performing courses despite frequent changes in operating companies contracted to improve its fortunes.
In November 2017, County officials threw in the towel on Victoria. They began implementing a new plan to transform the course into a “state-of-the-art community recreational center,” according to Daily Breeze reporter Sandy Mazza.
Details remained vague until 2019, when private equity firm head Doug Kimmelman announced plans for the proposed Carol Kimmelman Athletic & Academic Campus on the site, which would be the largest community tennis center in the western United States when completed. The center would be named for his wife, who died of cancer at 53.
It became part of an overall transformative project that is expected to cost up to $100 million. The new facilities are envisioned to include 62 tennis courts, eight soccer fields and a 25,000-square-foot, youth-focused learning center operated by the Tiger Woods Foundation.
In November 2020, The Creek at Dominguez Hills development on the southern 94 acres of the site was added to the mix. It will have more than a half-million square feet of retail and restaurant space, a driving range, a 7-acre golf facility, a multi-use sports complex, a sky diving facility, an outdoor adventure park, a nearly 7-acre public park, and a sports health and wellness building.
The various projects slated to replace Victoria Golf Course are expected to take about three years to complete. The course remains open for now; no firm date for its closure has been announced. But its time is running out.
Sources:
Daily Breeze archives.
Los Angeles Times archives.
The Southern California Golf Guide, by Daniel Wexler, MTIII Golf Media, El Segundo, 2017.
Torrance Press-Herald archives.
“Victoria Golf Course,” Los Angeles County Dept. of Parks and Recreation website.
“Victoria Golf Course (Former BKK Carson Landfill),” Fact Sheet, California Dept. of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), Feb. 2016.
