Driving Range Firm Topgolf Buys Pompano Beach Site for $15M

Topgolf bought a Pompano Beach development site for $14.7 million, marking a step forward for the driving range chain’s first venue in Broward County.

The Dallas-based company purchased nearly 11 acres of land on the southeast corner of Southwest Third Street and Southwest 23rd Avenue, where it plans a three-story facility with 102 hitting bays, according to records and real estate database provider Vizzda.

The driving range, known for its electronically tracked golf balls, will rise north of the massive Isle Casino Pompano Park redevelopment. The Cordish Companies and Caesars Entertainment, which are spearheading the Isle Casino overhaul, sold the site to Topgolf.

Isle Casino is an expansive, 223-acre entertainment hub in Pompano Beach that includes a horse racing track, a hotel, residences and a casino, which was recently rebranded as Harrah’s Pompano Beach. As part of Cordish Companies and Caesars’ redevelopment, the larger complex will be rechristened as Live! Resorts Pompano and is in line to get millions of square feet of additional development.

Baltimore-based Cordish Companies and Las Vegas-based Caesars also are betting on South Florida’s booming office market by including workspace in the project. Two years ago, the pair also envisioned a 1.5 million-square-foot industrial complex, although it’s unclear if that’s still planned.

Cordish Companies, a family firm founded in 1910, is led by David Cordish, according to its website. Caesars, based in Las Vegas and led by CEO Thomas Reeg, was formed through a 2020 merger with Eldorado Resorts to become a major gaming and hospitality firm. Its brands include Harrah’s, Caesars Palace and Horseshoe.

The Topgolf facility in Pompano Beach scored site plan approval from a city board in August. Plans call for the hitting bays to be partially enclosed, allowing for year-round golfing, and the venue will include a restaurant and bar, rooftop space, and outdoor and indoor seating and dining.

Topgolf, founded by brothers Steve and Dave Jolliffe and led by CEO Artie Starrs, opened its first South Florida venue in 2016 in Miami Gardens. Its other facility in the region is in Doral.

While Topgolf, now a subsidiary of golf equipment manufacturer Callaway, has gained popularity in recent years, traditional golf courses have seen a decline in patronage. Across South Florida, homebuilders have seized on closed outdoor golf courses as redevelopment sites for residential communities.