A long-vacant stretch of land near Interstate 5 and West El Camino Avenue in South Natomas was supposed to become Sacramento's first Topgolf after the city signed off on the project more than a year ago. But as of this month, there is still no groundbreaking, no construction date, and no public timeline for when — or if — the bulldozers will show up.
Topgolf submitted plans to the City of Sacramento for the roughly 14.5-acre site at 2050 Venture Oaks Way, and the Sacramento Planning and Design Commission unanimously approved the project, according to WhatNow. The two-story complex is designed with 80 hitting bays, a full-service restaurant and bar, and event space for parties, corporate outings and group gatherings, according to a separate WhatNow report on the project. Reports differ on the building's exact size, with one putting it at roughly 48,000 square feet and another citing 58,000 square feet; the discrepancy has not been resolved.
Plans call for 324 parking stalls, and the venue would mark the first Topgolf location within Sacramento city limits. The site has sat vacant for decades, and an earlier proposal for a 12-story office tower there never moved forward, the outlet's reporting notes.
No Construction Date in Sight
More than a year after Sacramento approved the Natomas Topgolf, there is still no sign of the project moving forward soon, according to a Sacramento Business Journal report. The outlet confirmed there has been no public announcement of a construction start date, even though the project can move into the building permit stage now that plans have been filed. Construction dates and a full project timeline remain pending, the earlier WhatNow coverage likewise confirmed.
Sacramento Vice Mayor Karina Talamantes, who represents the district containing the project site, announced the latest filing on social media and said she looks forward to the project moving ahead. The project also drew backing from the Natomas Chamber of Commerce and the Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, though some nearby residents have raised concerns about noise, lighting and traffic tied to the venue.
The Economic Pitch
Topgolf representative Ryan Hooper has said the Natomas location is expected to create around 300 jobs and generate between $150 million and $250 million for the local economy, per the earlier WhatNow account. The venue is expected to plant 226 new trees to offset 59 that would be removed, and plans call for outfield netting rising well above the building, with operating hours projected to run until midnight on weeknights and 2 a.m. on weekends.
Inside, the concept pairs a driving range with a lounge feel: players hit microchipped golf balls at targets from climate-controlled bays, with scoring and games displayed on screens, and food and drinks served right at the bays. That formula is already running about 20 miles away at Topgolf's Roseville location, which opened in 2016 as the first Topgolf in California and remains the closest one to Sacramento.
How Roseville Compares
Topgolf's three-story Roseville venue has about 102 bays, larger than the 80 planned for Natomas, and was built as a 65,000-square-foot facility, according to the company's own 2014 announcement. At the time, Topgolf projected the Roseville site would create 450 jobs, generate more than $264.5 million in economic output over a decade, and draw approximately 450,000 visitors in its first year alone — figures that dwarf the company's current projections for Natomas but illustrate the scale Topgolf has aimed for in the region before.
For now, the Natomas project remains in limbo between approval and construction. The city first announced the South Natomas project in August 2024, and Topgolf requested a fee estimate that October — but more than a year after planners gave their blessing, neighbors are still waiting to see any sign of dirt moving on Venture Oaks Way.
