A three-story golf range operated by Troon, an Arizona-based golf company, will be the latest attraction near the TBK Bank Sports Complex.
That, plus a new hotel, athletic fields for youth and collegiate sports, and space for commercial businesses, are set to start construction April 1.
The plans for a 70,000 square foot golf entertainment venue near the TBK Bank Sports Complex. The development will also feature several multi-sport (baseball, softball and soccer) turf fields, which will be managed by TBK Bank Sports Complex.
The new golf range, which the developers hope to have completed by summer or fall of 2023, will be between 70,000-80,000 square feet, include roughly 62 golf hitting bays, an arcade, three full-service bars, and a full-service restaurant, said Ryan Hintze, one of the three developers. Planners were also considering a pour-your-own-beer wall, sports simulators as part of the arcade, and a rooftop bar overlooking the baseball field.
Two of the developers on the project, Kevin Koellner and Doug Katz, told a group of city and economic leaders on Wednesday the initial complex could cost between $75 million and $100 million to construct, depending on labor and supply costs.
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Hintze said the idea started with a golf article. Perusing it, Hintze said a Top Golf-like facility caught his attention, where people can, with food and drinks nearby, hit golf balls from hitting bays into an open area below. He said he brought it to the attention of Koellner and Kratz, who developed the TBK Bank Sports Complex.
Koellner said the golf facility and athletic fields would take up about 45 acres, and 25 acres would be set aside for commercial development. The remaining acreage of the 109 land parcels would be reserved for drainage and slopes.
“There’s about 20 or 25 businesses that had that same entrepreneurialism that are all around us here today and I want to thank them because they really paved the way and made this not just something for somebody coming in here from out of town whose kids are playing sports here, but made it a local amenity, and we’re just going to build on that.”
City and economic development leaders praised the development deal, which they said would make the Quad-Cities a sports tourism destination.
Mayor Bob Gallagher called the development a “one-of-a-kind” development that would tap into youth sports tourism.
“This is the future of Bettendorf and our region,” Gallagher said. “We’re setting up our community to be one of the most forward-thinking and coveted tourism destinations in the Midwest, maybe even the country.”
At its Tuesday night meeting, the Bettendorf City Council approved an economic development agreement that committed the city to $5.8 million in development incentives, infrastructure improvements, and 75% tax-increment-finance rebate on development valued at at least $32 million.
Bettendorf Economic Development Director Jeff Reiter said staff expected the 20-year agreement to gain a net $3.5 million, on a conservative estimate. Reiter said he expects the development incentives to cost the city $10.9 million, and revenue from the new TIF, hotel/motel tax, $5 per room per night hotel fee, a sales tax rebate from the state, and new sales tax to be $14.4 million, but it could be more.
“MFG intends on constructing a unique golf and entertainment destination, and at the time of construction, it will be the only such facility of its kind in the state of Iowa,” Reiter told city council members on Monday.
“These are incredibly conservative estimates, and contrary to where we were at with the Bettplex LLC deal — we did not have a very strong frame of reference,” Reiter added. “We had an agricultural greenfield site, sports complexes were kind of up and coming. We now have a huge frame of reference to say that these numbers are fair, conservative, and beyond a shadow of a doubt, I think we can definitely agree on the fact that $3.5 million will easily be achieved over 20 years.”
The city and developers haven’t yet been awarded a sales tax rebate, but if they are, the city would get 45% and the remainder would go to the developers.
The 109 acres of land to be developed would have to be rezoned from agriculture to commercial, which increases the property tax on the land.
According to Reiter, Bettendorf collects about $1,926 on the property every year. Under the agreement that would be $155,000 annually, totaling $3.1 million over the 20-year life plus $3.8 million of the city’s quarter portion of the tax-increment fund. Tax revenues would also increase for both Scott County and the Pleasant Valley School District.
The city expects the TIF rebates, which are taxes paid on increases of property value generated by development, to total $14 million over 20 years on at least $32 million of development, as called for by the agreement.
The Scott County Board of Supervisors in a letter to the city noted that there wasn’t a cap on the TIF payments other than the 20-year agreement.
Hintze said they’re looking for a sponsor name for the development, similar to how TBK Bank is the titular sponsor of the sports complex opened in 2018.
According to numbers from Visit Quad Cities, the current TBK Bank Sports Complex and area around it is valued at almost $53 million. In 2021, the complex fielded more than 1.4 million adult visitors, generated $1.2 million in sales tax and employs roughly 180 full time equivalent people.
Visit Quad Cities CEO Dave Herrell said the TBK Bank Sports Complex is easily a $25 million annual economic driver.
“Sports tourism and youth sports is a highly competitive space and it’s an arms race. I think there’s not a community in the U.S. that isn’t looking at ways to double down and invest in assets like this,” Harrell said.
According to the city and economic development leaders, the expansion is expected to bring in more than 1 million new visits annually, and could create more than 100 new jobs. Reiter said he estimates roughly 20% of those would be full-time office or managerial jobs.
Construction on the new sports complex will be happening at the same time as the city undergoes redoing intersections at Forest Grove Drive and Middle Road. The city has planned $11.5 million in road improvements, which includes three roundabouts and pedestrian paths. Roughly half of that will come from federal aid with most of the remaining coming from the city.
In coming years, the city also plans to put in another roundabout and more pedestrian trails on Forest Grove Drive east of Middle Road. That is expected to cost $4.4 million, with $2.2 million in grants pending, according to city staff.
Bettendorf city officials say they don’t expect any complete road closures on Forest Grove Drive and Middle Road during construction. According to a news release, the city expects sewer and infrastructure work to be completed April 2023 and Forest Grove Drive by January 2024. The city also is planning to build a pedestrian bridge over Middle Road — the city has applied for a federal grant to offset the costs.
Reiter said traffic calming measures, such as road humps or extra stop signs, would be put in place to slow traffic near the Forest Grove Elementary School near the complex.
Kratz said he hopes to be able to add an Olympic-sized pool that would attract leagues and collegiate swim competitions.
Koellner told a group at the TBK Bank Sports Complex on Wednesday that people thought he and Kratz were “nuts” for proposing the sports complex.
“In the last few years, people have said, ‘What a vision you had.’ Well, I was scared as hell,” Koellner said. “We started in a cornfield and built this thing out there and it really worked out with a lot of dedication and hard work.”