Topgolf has proposed another location around town to bring in their world-famous golf attraction.
The next lucky spot? Sorrento Valley.
“We’ve wanted to bring the Topgolf venue experience to San Diego for a long time, and it’s encouraging to see us making progress toward that goal,” said Topgolf Chief Development Officer Chris Callaway. “While still in the early stages, we’re excited by the potential to bring even more play to the San Diego community.”
Topgolf said they hope to redevelop the Carrol Canyon Golf Center and replace it with a three-level venue equipped with the company's latest technology throughout its 80+ bays.
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Back in July, TopGolf said they were ironing out a deal that would bring the modern driving range to Harbor Island.
Port Board of Trustees Chairman Dan Malcolm told NBC 7 that the Port and Topgolf have a "handshake deal" on exclusive negotiations.
“I can just imagine this multi-story driving range with views right across the bay, right down to San Diego. It would be, really, a tremendous venue,” Malcolm told NBC 7 in July.
At the East Harbor Island location, Topgolf said it hopes to have a three-story venue housing over 100 hitting bays.
Purchased by Carlsbad-based Callaway Golf for $200 billion in 2020, according to Forbes, Topgolf told NBC 7 in a statement, "We continue to explore the possibility of bringing Topgolf to San Diego, but we have nothing official to announce at this time. We’ll share more details as they become available, and please feel free to reach out in the future."
Images from Topgolf locations around the country offer glimpses of what could be coming to San Diego's Bayfront. The view from the hitting bays at Topgolf Las Vegas features the strip's iconic skyline just beyond the range's netting. In between upper-deck target practice in San Diego, you'll have your choice of watching jumbo jets cascade over Bankers Hill, watching sailboats float by in the bay to the south or admiring downtown's reflection bouncing off of the bay.
"The process is moving forward. I’m excited because it could be that two years from now, maybe a little bit more, we’re actually going to have this incredible entertainment venue, Topgolf, for people to enjoy, so it’s in the process of becoming a reality," Malcolm said.
Malcolm said the port is committed to including no-cost public space on Harbor Island in addition to Topgolf and hotels. The port envisions park space, walking paths, a temporary watercraft parking dock and a place for kayaks, canoes and non-motorized watercraft to launch into the bay. At this point, there are no plans for free-standing retail shops or restaurants, according to Malcolm.
The idea of the world-famous driving range setting up shop in the 619 first came about when Topgolf responded to a Port RFP in 2015, according to Malcolm.
"They’ve always been around, they’ve always been interested in the site," he said. "The Port of San Diego has considered them – I think it’s fair to say in 2015 the Port was more interested in moving forward with another developer, but as the years have gone on and Topgolf has stayed in there, we have become increasingly interested in them taking over a portion of the site, along with developing the rest of Harbor Island."
“I can’t speak for Topgolf and how they do their site selections, but I can tell you they’ve been pretty focused on the bayfront for a long time. Since 2015," Malcolm added.
Recent delays along the way to a Topgolf-Port marriage can be attributed to -- you guessed it -- the coronavirus pandemic, as well as a 2021 geological report that revealed more about a fault line (noted in the above sketch) that runs parallel with North Harbor Drive.
