New Sports and Golf Complex

Move over Topgolf: OnCore Buffalo is coming to town  

It all started in Buffalo with OnCore balls, a high performance product made from scratch according to CEO Keith Blakley.Moving forward OnCore and a group of investors including developer Doug Swift,  of Buffalo Riverworks and Joseph Carubba, former CEO of Carubba Collison are rolling outa $30 million sports, entertainment and hospitality center including a 160-room hotel to be built along the Buffalo River. “As good as Top Golf is, this is going to be better,” said Blakley.

 

Certainly the plans look exciting for a city that gets socked in by snow during the winter. The complex like others on the drawing board is deigned to fit into a limited urban footprint.

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‘Although the center willfeature a AstroTurf driving range with 72 stacked hitting bays and 11 bright red target greens on a four-story structure, there is much more. The complex will be topped by a six-story hotel with at least 120 rooms, a sports bar and restaurant, and meeting space as well as a parking garage. The ship-shaped building will be heated, but the range will not be completely covered. The three-tiered golf driving range includes radar and camera systems in each hitting bay to help golfers track their balls, measure their swings and improve their overall play. The technology will offer an analysis of each shot, measuring both club and ball data.

 

There will also be "alternative experiences" for nongolfers, such as "augmented and mixed reality," the developers said. Various other games – for entertainment and competition – will be shown on monitors in each hitting bay. Plans include full-service food and beverage options at the hitting bays and throughout the complex – including self-service beer walls.

 

Although a typical Topgolf facility is 12-15 acres, OnCore’s plan calls for a smaller physical presence making it easier for the facilities to be located in the middle of a city like Buffalo and Syracuse.  Stay tuned.