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Drive Shack has quietly scrapped its plans to build a 60,000-square-foot entertainment golf complex in west Phoenix.
The complex was similar in look and feel to Topgolf. Plans called for a three-level venue with 96 bays where people would hit computerized golf balls onto a driving range with various holes and be able to see their speed, accuracy and earn "points" as part of different games.
It was also going to have a restaurant, bar, game area and events space, according to a news release that was sent out in September 2017.
The venue was going to be built at 99th Avenue and Bethany Home Road, technically within Phoenix's boundaries, but across the Loop 101 freeway and the University of Phoenix Stadium.
Valerie Riedler, the executive assistant and media spokesperson at John F. Long Properties, the owner of the land where Drive Shack was to be built, said Drive Shack pulled out of the deal in December.
It likely did not help that Topgolf had announced a month earlier that it was going to build and open a location at that same intersection, but across the street in Glendale's jurisdiction.
It is not clear if Drive Shack is looking at other locations in the Valley or has pulled out of the market entirely. ABC15 has reached out to Drive Shack for comment, but emails and phone messages left with the company's spokesperson were not returned.
Construction on Topgolf's Glendale location has begun and is slated to finish in the fall. They are currently hiring for 500 positions. They have three other locations in Scottsdale, Gilbert and Tucson.
Drive Shack opened its first venue this year in Orlando, Florida. According to its website, it has plans to open five more in West Palm Beach, Florida; Atlanta, Georgia; New Orleans; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Richmond, Virginia. No city in Arizona is on that list.
