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Lexie Cartwright & Jenny Rogers, Gold Coast Bulletin
A NEW $35m golf attraction is only the first piece of a multi-million-dollar puzzle set for the Movie World site at Oxenford.
Yesterday Village Roadshows Limited announced successful US entertainment company Topgolf would open its first Australian venue on the Gold Coast by the end of 2017.
But it’s just the beginning of a massive plan to revolutionise entertainment on the Gold Coast, with VRL to make a “huge” announcement in the next 60 days.
Spanning across 6ha (15 acres) of land next to Movie World, Topgolf will be in the same precinct as a nine-storey hotel and lakeside precinct, which was announced in December.
“Topgolf is just one component of a multifaceted plan,” Village Roadshows CEO of Theme Parks Tim Fischer said.
“We will announce it within the next 60 days but I can say that it is of significant gross capital cost.
“It will reposition and re-energise not only Movie World, but the whole of the Gold Coast. With (Movie World and Australian Outback Spectacular), we are a big peripheral development and that gives us greater potential to create a broader product.”
The attraction at Movie World, a joint venture between Village Roadshow and the US-based Topgolf, which was first flagged two years ago, will feature golf games for all ages and skill levels along with a chef-driven menu, drinks, big-screen TVs and music held in climate-controlled suites.
Construction on the Gold Coast site is expected to begin in the coming months, and be completed in mid to late 2017, with Mr Fischer expecting 500,000 people to walk through the doors in their first year.
Mr Fischer, who said the Coast was similar to Las Vegas and promised to continue investing here, urged non-golfers not to write the experience off on the “golf” aspect.
“I’ve just been at the opening of the Las Vegas Topgolf and while it’s a much larger market there I see similarities (between Vegas and the Gold Coast) in terms of loyal tourists and the market,” he said.
“It’s so much more than golf.
“It’s been wildly successful in the US, and I acknowledge that Australians aren’t Americans but fun is fun.
“The thing I want to place emphasis on is that there are other aspects like food, social interaction, having a beer, and I’ll just say now we will have the best hamburgers.
“I think the Gold Coast is missing a place like this that is open late in the evening.”
Founded in 2000, Topgolf is headquartered in Dallas, Texas and has garnered huge interest in the US and UK.
