PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — Hope springs eternal when you step up to the tee for that first drive.
That was apparent Tuesday morning when officials from the Peoria Park District and state Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth stepped up to the tee and drove the last balls at the Golf Learning Center in Peoria for at least a few months.
It was a unique way to kick off or commemorate the groundbreaking for center which will undergo a metamorphosis. Replacing the tees will be a facility which will resemble the Top Golf complexes found in bigger cities.
Fore! Peoria Park District receives grant for new golf entertainment center
It’ll be a two-level driving range with a full-service restaurant and bar, a golf simulation room and a 21-bay hitting structure. The bays will be located on the south end of the existing building.
The new facility was announced two years ago amid much fanfare by Gordon-Booth. She secured close to $5 million in state funding for the renovations. At the time, she said she wanted to find a way to keep young professionals from leaving the area.
“This will be incredibly diverse,” the Peoria Democrat said. “When you think about communities that are growing, if you want to have a growing community, you have to have young people that want to stay in your community, that want to move into your community.
“This is one of those elements that you find in other, larger, more growing communities that they have. And so I’m just excited to be a part of a larger vision and a larger team that’s doing things every day to make Peoria better,” Gordon-Booth said.
Construction could take between 10 months to one year, meaning the facility could open in mid-2025.
She said the park district hopes to keep the academy side of the learning center open as well as the pitch and putt course during the construction.
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