Flite Golf to bring Atomic Range golf attraction near Strip

Las Vegas is getting another massive golf entertainment venue, this time right between the Strip and downtown.

Golden Entertainment has entered into an agreement with Dallas-based Flite Golf and Entertainment to build Atomic Range, a four-story, 92,000-square-foot facility that will feature more than 100 golf hitting bays, the companies announced Monday. The venue will include four bars, meeting space and a 12,000-square-foot “Astrocade” and is expected to cost roughly $70 million to construct.

Under the agreement, Golden will contribute seven acres of undeveloped land that is located directly north of The Strat to Flite Golf, and the two companies will share in the gross revenue generated by the facility.

“There’s not many golf destinations better in the world than Las Vegas,” Flite Golf founder and CEO John Vollbrecht said Monday.

He said he sees the location just north of The Strat as primed to attract visitors from the Strip and downtown and locals. He said that the company knows that Las Vegas is a competitive market when it comes to the golf entertainment industry, with the likes of Topgolf behind MGM Grand just a few miles down the road, but believes its immersive technology will allow it to stand out.

“If we’re going to go into Vegas, we’ve got to do it right and do something unique,” Vollbrecht said.

The Atomic Range announcement comes as golf is seeing a surge in growth and popularity across the country that the companies are hoping to tap into.

Data released last month from the National Golf Foundation showed that more than 24.8 million people played golf in the U.S. in 2020, an increase of 500,000 players. That 2 percent uptick was the largest year-over-year growth for the industry in nearly two decades. Another 12.1 million golfers teed it up exclusively at off-course venues, including driving ranges, indoor golf simulators and golf entertainment venues.

It’s not just new players, either. Golfers are just playing more golf these days.

Despite an estimated 20 million rounds lost last spring because of COVID-19 closures and restrictions, golfers played 502 million rounds by the end of 2020 — 61 million more than were played in 2019.

“We’ve seen a massive growth in golf over the past two years, and we think now is the time to launch this kind of experience,” Brad Goldberg, senior vice president of marketing for Golden Entertainment, said.

Goldberg said that the venue will complement the renovations made to The Strat in recent years, including the $110 million renovation project that was completed last year.

“As we think about the transformation of The Strat, we think that this continues that transformation by offering an additional entertainment experience in the form of golf entertainment,” Goldberg said.

Atomic Range is expected to open 2023.

Contact Colton Lochhead at clochhead@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ColtonLochhead on Twitter.