Wichita approves $10 million Topgolf subsidy in move blasted as ‘blatant misuse of funds’
The Wichita City Council on Tuesday approved a $10.2 million public subsidy package for a developer to build a multi-story driving range near the Stryker Sports Complex in northeast Wichita.
The Topgolf facility will consist of a double-deck 52-bay golf range with launch monitors to analyze the players’ shots, plus an accompanying restaurant, bar and mini-golf course.
The golf complex will anchor a 22-acre development site that will also include a hotel and retail and office buildings.
The project passed on a narrow 4-3 vote with Mayor Brandon Whipple and council members Becky Tuttle, Cindy Claycomb and Bryan Frye in support.
As she made the motion to approve, Tuttle thanked Topgolf “for investing in our community or considering investing in our community.”
“I think it’s great to see that Wichita is recognized and noticed and that people want to, and industries want to, invest in us,” she said.
Before the vote, Luke Wagle, a political science student at Wichita State University, questioned the public benefit of spending millions on subsidizing an upscale golf attraction at the affluent edge of the city.
“It’s kind of insane that we’re spending all this money on a Topgolf . . . and all this stuff on K-96 when there’s a lot of places in this city that really do need money,” Wagle said. “Really, every time I talk to people about that stuff, the reaction’s always the same. They’re really confused and they’re really upset, actually, with the city’s pretty blatant misuse of funds.”
Council member Jared Cerullo questioned Topgolf executive Todd Waldo on the profitability of its business.
“I saw that Topgolf’s 2019 annual revenue was $1.05 billion,” Cerullo said. “How much of that is net profit?”
Waldo, director of real estate development for the company, said he didn’t have that answer.
“Obviously Topgolf is a global company,” he said. “We have venues across the world. We have 70 venues total, 64 of those being within the United States and six being international.”
Topgolf made its name with mammoth facilities in densely populated areas, but has been moving toward downsized venues to suit smaller markets.
Overall, the Wichita project is expected to cost $25.8 million, including the $10.2 million in public funds.
Of the $10.2 million, $4.2 million has already been spent on acquiring land in anticipation of developing a project at the site.
The subsidy approved Tuesday will be funded through Sales Tax Anticipation Revenue, or STAR, bonds.
STAR bonds allow a city to divert future state and local sales tax revenue to developers to pay off part of their costs of creating attractions aimed at boosting tourism. But the program has faced criticism for a lack of transparency in reporting requirements.
The final project funding plan will need to be approved by the state Commerce Department.
The golf attraction will be built slightly to the east of the Stryker complex, a city-owned, privately run venue where the city spent $22 million on upgrades to the fields and stadium three years ago.
The city had originally earmarked $7 million for a multi-level golf range, but that’s been reduced to $6 million in the final package.
The city is shifting the additional $1 million to the Stryker complex, mostly to upgrade the locker rooms in hopes of attracting collegiate-level soccer tournaments in addition to youth and semi-professional sports.
This story was originally published June 1, 2021 at 12:27 PM.
