What are those poles off Route 37? It's the Topgolf facility − here's a closer look (2024)

The Topgolf construction cost $40 million

CRANSTON − Rising high above Route 37 like sentinels, white poles mark the boundaries of the new Topgolf complex on Sockanosset Cross Road, a golf entertainment center that is replacing the expansive parking lot at the former Citizens Bank campus.

Those mysterious white poles will hold up a mesh net to keep golf balls from escaping the Topgolf range, where they could start flying as early as late summer.

The site is owned by the Carpionato Group, which will lease the facility to Topgolf.

Construction at the site has been underway since last July. What was once asphalt has been torn up and will be replaced with fake grass, while a hill behind the back of the facility has been leveled to be turned into a 470-space parking lot, Carpionato Group President Kelly Coates said.

The dirt mound, from the former hill, is visible from Route 37, but will soon be removed.

What is Topgolf?

Topgolf bills itself as a "sports entertainment complex" with a "high-tech golf game."

The main idea of Topgolf is to earn points by hitting targets. Each ball has a microchip that lets it be tracked through its flight and into targets, each worth a specific number of points.

While some may try to treat the complex as a driving range cut short by nets, the targets make the game interesting for children and adults alike, Coates said.

"It's a kid's dream," he said.

The complex will have a total of 111 bays stacked on three levels for hitting balls.

The facility will serve food, and will have two bars.

Coates said he expects the complex will generate 150 good-paying, full-time jobs and 300 part-time jobs and will bring an estimated $1 million in property and sales taxes to the city.

When will Topgolf in Cranston open?

Construction on the Topgolf site is expected to finish by late August and open in late summer or early fall, Coates said.

Originally the project was to begin years earlier, but when the pandemic began, Topgolf locations were part of lockdown orders and the project was put on pause, Coates said. Construction started in July 2022.

What happens after Topgolf is done?

Once the Topgolf project is complete, work will begin on the next phase of the project. Most of single-level building that used to house Citizens Bank will be razed. The entire site is just under 25 acres.

The remaining two-story building will be renovated and turned into "experiential retail." The plans approved by Cranston call for a new building, with retail and a drive-in restaurant, near the front of the site.

Announcements about retailers are coming, Coates said

"Experiential" retail is stores that offer an experience, instead of just selling products, like a Cabela's/Bass Pro Shops or REI, which is currently in the Chapel View shopping center up the street. Other examples include Apple stores.

Cranston Topgolf expected to be a regional draw

The Topgolf facility is expected to bring in customers to Cranston from surrounding states. The nearest Topgolf facility, in Canton, Massachusetts, is expected to open by the end of this year.

The Cranston Topgolf facility should bring in people from Massachusetts and Connecticut. Coates said the hope is that those out-of-area and out-of-state visitors will patronize the facility as well as the surrounding shopping and dining at the nearby Garden City Center and Chapel View complexes.

The facility is directly off Route 37, which connects interstates 95 and 295, meaning it offers easy access for out-of-Cranston and out-of-state visitors, Coates said.

How much does Topgolf cost?

While the website for the Topgolf in Cranston does not list prices, the website independentgolfreviews.com puts the prices for a bay between $45 an hour to $90 an hour.

A single lane rental at area bowling alleys, by comparison, costs up to $50 an hour.

How much will the project cost?

The Topgolf construction is expected to cost $40 million.

Coates said the project received no government funding, subsidies or tax treaties.

Another big sports complex, the Tidewater Landing soccer stadium in Providence, estimated to cost $124 million, is receiving $60 million in public incentives, including $36 million in public borrowing, $14 million in state tax credits and $10 million from Pawtucket.

What is the history of the Topgolf site?

Citizens Bank announced in 2016 it would vacate its campus in Cranston and build a new one on 108 acres in Johnston. Its lease lapsed in 2018.

During the pandemic, the building was used as a COVID-19 field hospital.

Once Citizens Bank announced its intentions to vacate the premises, the Carpionato Group went to city to ask for custom zoning changes for the site, allowing them to go taller.

December 2019: Topgolf complex nearing final OKs from Cranston

The complex received final approval in December 2019.

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Reach Wheeler Cowperthwaite atwcowperthwaite@providencejournal.comor follow him on Twitter@WheelerReporter.