Inside Topgolf’s new Topgolf Lounge facility in Kirkland, Wash. (Topgolf Photos)

Topgolf finally made its way to the Seattle region.

The sports and entertainment company on Friday will open its first-ever “Lounge by Topgolf” concept, an indoor facility that combines virtual sports with food and beverage offerings.

Topgolf is known for its traditional outdoor driving-range-meets-bowling-alley venues that have popped up across the U.S over the past several years. Lounge by Topgolf moves the experience inside with five high-tech simulators powered by Topgolf Swing Suite technology, which lets customers play virtual golf and other sports such as dodgeball and football.

The 9,200 square-foot lounge is located on the second floor at Kirkland Urban, a new 1.2 million square-foot mixed use development just east of Seattle in Kirkland, Wash. Google purchased the site in September and has about 400,000 square feet of office space there, adding to its massive Seattle-area footprint that has grown to nearly 2 million square feet. Google has more than 4,500 employees total in the region working on everything from Android technology to cloud computing.

QFC and popular burger chain Shake Shack are also tenants at Kirkland Urban.

 

Erik Anderson, executive chairman of Topgolf Entertainment Group, lives in the Seattle area. He said he’s excited for Topgolf to be in his backyard and expects everything from charity events to local golf club tournaments to take place at the new venue.

“The same ideas that make the Topgolf venue experience so great are going to be replicated here and then some,” Anderson said. “It’s going to be a great thing for the community.”

Topgolf has yet to open an outdoor location in the Seattle region. GeekWire reported more than a year ago that Topgolf had its eye on a 14-acre parcel in Renton, just south of Seattle. Anderson, who also runs Seattle-based investment company WestRiver Group, said he’s optimistic about the Renton location but declined to provide further details.

Topgolf operates more than 50 locations and serves 17 million customers annually. It opened a location in the Portland, Ore. area three years ago and brought its pop-up concept Topgolf Crush to Seattle in 2017. Topgolf also has its Toptracer technology installed at various driving ranges around Seattle, and its Swing Suite tech is used at Forum Social House in Bellevue, Wash.

The company is reportedly preparing to go public at a possible $4 billion valuation, Bloomberg reported.

Source: Sports Technology