HISTORY OF LAKEVIEW GOLF RESORT & SPA The Lakeview Story

1950 – 1951 Lakeview Country Club was originally founded in 1950 by the late Mr. Ward Christopher. It was Mr. Christopher’s dream to build a great golf course overlooking beautiful Cheat Lake. In the spring of 1950, a nine hold golf course was designed and built by Mr. James Harrison, a golf course architect from Pittsburgh, PA. With Lakeview’s original clubhouse, presently the Library area, being designed by Mr. Robert J. Bennett.
1952 – 1955 In 1953, nine lodge rooms were built around the clubhouse to accommodate overnight guests visiting from the Pittsburgh area. This venture proved so successful that the following year, 24 more lodge rooms were added. More visitors came, and the club’s membership increased. In 1954, nine more holes were added to the course, and Lakeview’s famous 18-hole championship course was born.
1956 – 1960 Five chalets were built at the entrance to the resort, and more and more visitors came as Lakeview’s reputation began to grow. In 1958, legendary golfer Sam Snead won the West Virginia Open held here at Lakeview, and set a course record with a score of 67. (The Lakeview Course has a par 72 rating). And, in 1959, the Tri-State PGA Tournament was held at Lakeview.
1961 Tragedy struck with the unfortunate death of Lakeview’s owner and visionary, Mr. Ward Christopher.
1962 – 1963 Lakeview was sold by the Christopher family to a close family friend, Mr. Richard Wright. Lakeview was now owned by Wright Corporation of Johnstown, PA.
1964 – 1966 Over $200,000 was spent improving the clubhouse and golf course. A real estate venture called Lakeview Manor was started, and the development of 34 deluxe home sites on property surrounding the resort began.
1967 – 1968 Tragedy struck again, with fire destroying 33 lodge rooms. Mr. Wright decided to rebuild, and invested over $1 million to completely restore and rebuild the resort. Both the clubhouse and the lodge rooms were double in size. In the summer of 1968, a new lodge called the Lakeview Inn invited the public to stay and play at Lakeview.
1969 – 1976 An indoor swimming pool was built and more lodge rooms and meeting rooms were added to the facility. Memberships grew and the club now boasted more than 80 golf carts. The Conference and Training Center building was also completed. Lakeview now had a membership totaling more than 2000, and employed over 180 associates.
A number of tournaments were played at Lakeview during this time. In 1970, there was the Virginia-Carolina Tournament, in 1971 the Tri-State Champions Tournament, along with a variety of Golf Exhibition Tournaments. Golfing legend Jack Nicklaus played three exhibition golf matches, and was joined by local Latrobe, PA native and golfing great Arnold Palmer. Orville Moody, Paul Bumann, Bryan Nelson, Barbara Romack along with the Ladies PGA champion Patty Berg also visited Lakeview during this time.
1977 – 1979

Over $4 million was spent to completely rebuild the clubhouse. An additional 12 executive suites were built along with the fabulous Palmer-Nicklaus Banquet Hall, presently know as the Governor’s Ballrooms. The hall boasted seating for over 800 and was the finest banquet facility in the tri-state area. To ensure guests received the quality food and service expected from a resort, a new kitchen area was built. Lakeview appointed its first Director of Sales and a regional Pittsburgh sales representative.

The need for additional parking resulted in the removal of the outdoor pool, with a new and larger pool being built behind the lodge. Additional cart paths were built to accommodate the nearly 90 Harley-Davidson golf carts in use. Membership had grown to 3500, and employees exceeded 250. Under the supervision of grounds superintendent, Dale Wolfe, Lakeview’s golf course was considered one of the finest championship golf courses in the country. In the summer of 1979, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer returned to play their last exhibition game at Lakeview.
1982 Owner Richard Wright sold the Lakeview Country Club to the Kahler Corporation. The club was renamed the Lakeview Resort & Conference Center.
1983 The Kahler Corporation invested over $2.5 million to renovate the entire resort. This renovation included the addition of “The Grille” restaurant, a casual dining room overlooking the 18th fairway. Kahler also brought the Sheraton name to Lakeview. Golfing greats Gary Player, Forrest Tucker and Effrin Zimbalist Jr. visited Lakeview to play an exhibition round at the resort’s grand re-opening festivities.
1984 Kahler Corporation built and sold 79 two-bedroom timeshare condominium units. The units, built along the 2nd, 6th and 7th fairways of the Lakeview course were a hit with golfers and travelers from the West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio regions. Most units sold prior to actual completion.
1985 Lakeview Resort & Conference Center opens a second 18 hole golf course, the Mountainview Course. Designed by golf course architect Bryan Ault, it is located 1 ½ miles from the resort, and is surrounded by a housing community known as “Greystone on the Cheat”, and is one of Morgantown’s most prestigious communities.
1987 Lakeview opens a state-of-the-art $2 million Fitness Center featuring indoor tennis courts, racquetball, lap pool, aerobics, cardio-vascular equipment, tanning beds, whirlpool tub, steam rooms and saunas.The par 72 Mountainview Course distinguishes itself by hosting the West Virginia Mid-Amateur Golf Championship.
1989 Lakeview returns to its independent resort status and drops the Sheraton franchise. The resort is once again known as the Lakeview Resort & Conference Center. A $1 million renovation project updating the guest rooms and the meeting rooms is completed.
1993 Lakeview replaces its entire fleet of 150 golf carts with new gasoline powered Club Cars.
1994 – 1996 The Kahler Corporation invests over $1 million for hotel renovations and guest room upgrades. Renovations included new carpeting, beds, furnishings, ceilings, painting and overall cosmetic restorations.
1997 In October of 1997, Sunstone Hotels from the west coast purchased Lakeview Resort as part of a group purchase from Kahler Corporation. Nine months later, Lakeview was sold by Sunstone Hotels to GF Management Inc., a professional management company from Philadelphia, PA, specializing in the rehabilitation of hotels, resorts and country club properties.
1998

In September of 1998, GF Management invested over $4 million for resort renovations. These renovations included asphalting the entrance to the facility and parking areas, staining the exterior brick, applying a new roof and façade to the exterior of the hotel, adding an exterior deck to the Sportsview Grille, along with major interior updates and renovations of carpeting, tile, flooring, wall vinyl, and new furnishings. GF also made upgrades to ensure guest safety by equipping all guest rooms with an in-room sprinkler system and computerized central fire alarm panel.

It was in 1998 that the Scanticon name became associated with the resort. The term Scanticon is an international conferencing style started by Mr. Jorgen Roed from Sweden, and endorsed by the GF Management team. Mr. Roed’s conference style promoted open air thinking and free flowing discussions. This theory quickly grew in popularity and was embraced by the corporate community. To reflect this free flowing technique, all of Lakeview’s conference rooms were renovated and equipped with ergonomic chairs and tables. The Scanticon symbol, the perfect circle, was also adopted. Mr. Roed believed that everyone is equal, and that corporations should reflect this idea of circular free flowing communications in order to get the most benefit from their conferences. The Scanticon symbol was added to the resort’s front fountain, and Mr. Roed’s theory of unity was promoted throughout the resort
2000 Lakeview welcomed the new millennium with the addition of a Scanticon Breakout station located on the Seminar Room second floor foyer. This breakout station provides corporate groups with an area for casual gatherings and refreshments outside the conference rooms.
2001

Augustino’s Lounge was renamed the Leaderboard Lounge. Plans were made to renovate the lounge from it’s traditional bar room look to an updated sports complex, complete with a display board for daily golfer rankings.

Over $230,000 was spent on exterior and interior renovations at the timeshare condominium units. With the completion of Phase I, timeshare owners saw new carpeting, wall coverings, exterior building and deck staining, and new furnishings.
The hotel expanded their number of suites by adding whirlpool tubs to two hotel rooms.