Mayor Rick Blangiardi looks at reviving Topgolf partnership at Ala Wai driving range

Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said he is looking at “picking up the baton” on a potential public-private partnership with Topgolf at the Ala Wai Golf Course and what it could mean for the city.

The previous mayor, Kirk Caldwell, announced a conditional partnership with the high-tech golf entertainment firm in 2018.

But in the past 11 months, the confluence of the pandemic, Topgolf’s acquisition by golf equipment powerhouse Callaway and changes at Honolulu Hale have seen the project put on the back burner. In July, Topgolf said it was “temporarily pausing” the project.

Callaway, which previously held a 14% stake in Dallas-based Topgolf, spent $2 billion in October to take over the company, which lists more than 60 sites primarily across the U.S., United Kingdom and Australia entertaining 20 million customers, golfers and non-golfers alike, annually at its multi-level facilities.

On Tuesday, Blangiardi said, “I know that Callaway has a real interest in wanting to do this in Hawaii. If they do, so do I.”

Topgolf did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Blangiardi said, “So, we’re really interested in this concept, but we’ve got to do a fair amount of discovery.”

He said, “Something like this could be huge for us. There are only so many rounds that can be played (and) we don’t want to keep jacking up the rates. I know the kind of people who go to municipal golf courses. It is not a private country club. It is part of the taxpayer benefit.”

Under the original agreement, Topgolf was to be responsible for $50 million in construction costs as well as finance, operation and maintenance of the facility on a 7.26-acre parcel currently occupied by the driving range amid the 150-acre Ala Wai footprint.

In return, for a 20-year lease with an option for an additional 20 years, the city was to receive $1.06 million in annual rent on a schedule that increases by 3.16% annually plus 1% of annual gross sales.

The development was not to affect the 18-hole golf course, which at one time was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the busiest golf course in the world. The 220,000 rounds played annually at its height helped underwrite operation of the city’s five other less active courses.

But, as part of a national trend, use of the Ala Wai course declined significantly to just 129,183 rounds in 2019, impacting upkeep. The city has said that it needed $4.7 million in subsidies in 2019 to operate the courses.

Blangiardi said, “We have capacity issues and as far as the amount of rounds that can be played and what that yields. So you have to look at something in the public-private sector that creates revenues for the golf course (and) that doesn’t disturb the play of our local residents. Topgolf, from everything I’ve been able to learn about it, seems to be a tremendous opportunity because we have a driving range there now which could use some work.”

Blangiardi also cited it as a tourism draw for visitors who don’t have the facility in their areas.

As for a timeline, Blangiardi said, “They (advisers) have told me this could be three, four years down the road. We’ll see what we can do. It is not a tomorrow kind of a thing. This will take a lot of planning and have to go through the proper approvals.”