TMRW Sports, the company behind the new tech-focused TGL golf league that will launch in early 2025, is reportedly planning on building a steel venue to house the tournament after its planned host venue in Florida suffered damage in November.
TGL had been due to debut in January this year, but TMRW Sports announced in November that its launch had been pushed back a year after the purpose-built SoFi Center was seriously damaged.
SoFi Center is located on the campus of Palm Beach State College in Florida. On November 14, a failure of the temporary power system and backup systems used during construction caused the SoFi Center dome to deflate, which caused damage to the air-supported dome section of the site.
There were no injuries, and most of the technology was not impacted, but the decision was taken to postpone the inaugural season following discussions with key partners. TMRW Sports was founded by Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and sports executive Mike McCarley, and several high-profile players had signed up to participate in the first season.
Sports Business Journal has reported that TMRW Sports is now revising plans for the TGL host venue. The report said that the new facility would feature insulated steel walls and a steel-supported roof.
The original SoFi Center would have had a capacity of around 2,000 fans and span 250,000 square feet, and this is not set to change under the revised plans. Construction of the new venue would reportedly be finished in time for early next year.
Personal finance company SoFi agreed a deal to sponsor the original facility back in October as part of a multi-year deal that also included presenting sponsorship of the league itself.
The arena was designed to bring the game of golf closer to fans, and there had been plans for TGL to combine some simulator golf with live action in front of crowds, with short game and putting taking place at the venue.
Six teams based in Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Jupiter (Florida) were confirmed to compete in the inaugural TGL season.
