Tiger Woods' TGL golf league wins OK for permanent arena at PBSC Palm Beach Gardens campus
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PALM BEACH GARDENS — The Palm Beach State College Board of Trustees will allow TMRW Sports to construct a permanent arena for an interactive golf league led by stars such as Tiger Woods and Rory McElroy on their Palm Beach Gardens campus — just as long as the company pays it hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.
TGL, as the league is known, was supposed to start play this year in an inflatable dome on a 3-acre site along PGA Boulevard. In November, when work on the dome was nearly done, fierce winds and rain ripped apart the dome, forcing TMRW Sports to change plans.
The storm delayed the start of TGL play until early 2025 and led TMRW Sports to propose an alternative plan to the trustees: construct a metal building, which will be known as the SoFi Center, instead of trying for another inflatable dome.
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Trustees did not sign off on the change when it was first presented in February and asked to continue the conversation during Friday's meeting. They approved the project as part of an amended lease. Under its terms:
The college charged TMRW Sports $200,000 a year for 2023 and 2024.
Starting in 2025, Palm Beach State will collect a $440,000 annual payment until 2028. This will increase 2% from 2029 to 2033 and increase another 2% from 2034 to 2038.
TMRW Sports can renew the lease from 2039 to 2043 for a price to be determined by an appraisal assessed at the time. This would also increase 2% per year for three years.
The agreed-upon lease is set to last for 20 years, separated by five-year terms.
Trustees are asking TMRW Sports to secure a $2 million bond for funds if the college decides to decommission the building after the lease ends.
The original plan did not require TMRW Sports to pay a dollar amount to the college, but its directors said they would provide “in-kind rent.”
The college also previously granted the company free use of its parking lots. Now, if TMRW Sports plans to use a parking area known as the “Blue Lot” on campus during an event, TMRW will have to pay a fee of $5,010 for each day of the event.
The company is still expected to provide a range of benefits to PBSC during the lease term, such as college-student training opportunities, publicity, curriculum development and shared use of the facility. It also made a $1 million donation to the Foundation for Palm Beach State College.
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What is the SoFi Center, and how will it blend into the PBSC campus?
The SoFi Center will cost an estimated $50 million, up from the $11 million the college estimated the dome would have cost. Made of metal instead of a parachute-like fabric, it will stand 75 feet high, slightly shorter than the dome, and be built to withstand a Category 5 hurricane. Its expected lifespan would be 50 years, or 35 years longer than the dome.
The 250,000-square-foot arena would be built to resemble a TV studio. It would have seating for 1,500 people. Larger audiences are expected on ESPN, which signed on to broadcast the weekly Monday night matches live. Central to the arena’s design would be a 46-by-64-foot Jumbotron-type screen.
The company also made a change to the exterior material on building: one that will make it look less like metal and more like stucco.
"It will blend much better with the other buildings on campus," Mike McCarley, the founder of TMRW Sports, told trustees on Friday. "That was one of (your) major concerns."
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What is Tiger Woods' TGL, and which PGA Tour golfers will it feature?
TGL is a golf league that will consist of 24 players and six teams, each with four PGA Tour players competing head-to-head in 18-hole match play. The original plan was for 15 regular-season Monday night matches, followed by semifinals and finals.
The league was developed by Woods, a Jupiter Island resident who is regarded as one of the best golfers of all time; and McIlroy, a Jupiter resident, winner of four major golf tournaments and the second-ranked golfer on the PGA Tour; and McCarley.
Other players who have committed to playing in the league include: Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler, Justin Rose, Keegan Bradley, Collin Morikawa, Matt Fitzpatrick, Xander Schauffele, Max Homa, Adam Scott, Billy Horschel, Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry, Tom Kim, Sahith Theegala, Cameron Young, Patrick Cantlay, Wyndham Clark, Min Woo Lee, Kevin Kisner and Lucas Glover.
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SoFi Center plan wins raves from PBSC trustees
TMRW was met with a positive response from every trustee. Each agreed that the building would fit well with the others on campus.
"I feel like everything you’ve done with this amendment is great for the students, the college, and as a happy by-product, the county," said trustee Patrice Bishop. "It's a complete win-win for everybody.”
Daniel Gil-Sanchez, the student trustee for the college, said the facility also will help fix a problem that his community is facing: student engagement.
“I’d like to highlight how important this project will be in bringing students back to college,” Gil-Sanchez said. “With the amount of influence this will bring, this will tackle one of the issues that the nation itself is trying to accommodate."
Maria Marino, a Palm Beach County commissioner whose district includes the PBSC campus and a 30-year member of the LPGA, said the SoFi Center "will bring much-needed jobs and economics to our county and city."
“I just can’t say enough how much I’m in favor of this," she said.
Maya Washburn covers northern Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida-Network. Reach her at mwashburn@pbpost.com. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: PBSC OKs arena for Tiger Woods' TGL golf league in Palm Beach Gardens
