The roof at the still-under-construction SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., the future home of a start-up indoor golf league called TGL started by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, collapsed on Tuesday night after an apparent power failure. Local reports said nobody was injured, but the air-supported dome appears to have sustained significant damage.
"An overnight failure to the temporary power system used during the construction phase caused deflation and damage to the air-supported dome section of the site," the TGL said in a statement via Sports Illustrated’s Bob Harig. "At this time, while we assess the damage, it is too early to determine the impact on our timelines ... no technology was impacted ... work on site is continuing."
The SoFi Center dome is being constructed on the Palm Beach State College campus, encompasses about 250,000 square feet and has a seating capacity for 2,000 people.
The league, scheduled to debut on Jan. 9 on ESPN, plans to run events throughout the first season on Tuesday evenings on both ESPN and ESPN2. The league will consist of six teams squaring off in “triples” alternate shot matches, singles matches, and closest-to-the-pin competitions during the season.
The venue will feature a 64-by-46-foot simulator screen for drives and a 97-by-50-yard playing surface where golfers can chip and putt on natural grass with sand bunkers.
Five of the six teams have already been sold to ownership groups, and several marquee names in pro golf — including Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Rickie Fowler and Max Homa — have committed to playing alongside McIlroy and Woods.
It’s not yet clear whether the repairs will delay the start of the league, which was expected to kick off Jan. 9., according to a report on Yahoo Sports.
