WEBB CITY, Mo. — The Webb City Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously advanced a special-use permit on Monday for Tee Time LLC to build an attraction in the area that will feature multiple golf driving bays, pickleball courts and a restaurant.
The attraction will be located on a roughly 8-acre tract known as the old G&H Redi-Mix site at the Y intersection of Broadway and Daugherty Street near Route 66 Sports Bar and Grill. The land was acquired by the city for the purpose of redevelopment in the area of Centennial Park, a 300-acre retail and commercial development district located along East Street.
“We were able to purchase the land from the previous owners, and we worked out a deal with Tee Time LLC to get it under contract,” Webb City Administrator Carl Francis said. “The Webb City Council is excited about it, and they’re very much in favor of supporting it.”
The special-use permit for a “golfing facility with food and beverage” will now advance to the City Council for its next meeting, which will be at 5:30 p.m. Monday, July 25, at City Hall. If approved, Tee Time LLC can then file for a building permit and could possibly begin construction later this year.
Rick Utter, chairman of the zoning commission, asked what the construction timeline would potentially look like for the project, if it were approved.
Kellen Grantham, of Joplin, a partner in Tee Time, said that if everything goes according to plan, they hope to start construction in the fall. The anticipated completion date would be mid-to-late summer 2023.
Grantham described the business as a “Topgolf-style venue” that’s similar to Backwoods Golf, a golf driving range with temperature-controlled hitting bays and food options in Republic. Other golfing and entertainment complexes have been built in Rogers, Arkansas, and Overland Park, Kansas.
Topgolf operations offer multiple bays from which participants drive electronically tracked golf balls at various targets in a field that is backed with netting.
“The (Backwoods) building (in Republic) is very similar to ours,” Grantham said. “They don’t have the netting.”
The location will feature a one-story facility with 19 golf driving bays, four pickleball courts, a courtyard area for cornhole, and a restaurant that serves alcohol. The operation would have 10,500 square feet and include a 215-yard driving range surrounded by an 80-foot fence with netting. The golf balls would be tracked with an electronic system.
“We’ll use limited-flight golf balls,” Grantham said. “At a Topgolf, you’re lucky to hit it back to the net. Some of the stronger drivers may get it there, but to hit it over the net would be pretty spectacular.”
Grantham said they looked for a location for a year throughout Southwest Missouri and decided Webb City was a great fit for their vision.
“It’s really coming along over there,” he said. “We got introduced to Carl Francis, and it worked out to be a great location for us.”
Mike Moore, zoning commission member, asked what the projected hours of operation would be for the establishment. Grantham said they would most likely start out from 10 a.m. to midnight and that hours could vary on weekdays.
The business is expected to generate approximately 100 jobs, according to Grantham.
Francis said it opens up opportunities for additional growth in the Centennial Retail District.
“We’ll have an entertainment complex in Webb City that’s not offered in this area,” he said.
