A 40,000-square-foot golf and entertainment complex known as ShotClub Social was planned for a 10.5-acre site along I-275 in Knoxville. The site sits east of the interstate and north of West Fifth Avenue, running along Second Creek, where developers have pitched a venue combining golf bays, bowling, an arcade and food and drink under one roof.
The project traces back to March 2024, when the Knoxville News Sentinel reported that the venue was estimated to cost $30.7 million to redevelop the former industrial site. A separate report the following month from Inside of Knoxville put the total investment as high as $35 million, a figure that has not been reconciled with the earlier estimate. The land itself — 10 acres at 822 Richards Street — was purchased by OnCore Golf, a New York-based company, according to WATE.
What's Planned Inside
Developer Spike McCamy has described a layout with roughly 60 golf bays, each able to accommodate groups of up to six people, per the Knoxville News Sentinel's earlier reporting. Beyond the driving range, plans call for eight lanes of duckpin bowling, a few dozen arcade machines, a mini-golf course and a dog-friendly beer garden outside. McCamy also said the venue would include a bar on each floor and a restaurant serving what he called upscale pub food.
McCamy has estimated the business would generate 200 to 250 full- and part-time jobs once operating. The concept has drawn comparisons to Topgolf, which opened a location in Farragut in 2022, and to another ShotClub location under development in Buffalo, New York. Plans for that Buffalo complex, also about 40,000 square feet, call for a two-level interactive driving range along with food and beverage options and event space for corporate and party use, according to WATE's reporting.
Tax Incentives And Lingering Approvals
Knoxville City Council approved a nine-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes program for the project's owner, Knox OnCore LLC, by a 7-1 vote in March 2024. The structure reported at the time included a two-year construction period followed by nine years of payments, with OnCore paying $7,612 annually across that 11-year stretch. After the PILOT period ends, the site's estimated annual property taxes would run to $319,589, with $185,705 going to the city and $133,884 to Knox County.
That incentive still needed sign-off from the Knoxville Industrial Development Board, though not from the Knox County Commission, the Knoxville News Sentinel's reporting noted. A city release on the investment, published by the City of Knoxville, said the council's approval reflected a nine-year tax incentive requested by Mayor Indya Kincannon. Inside of Knoxville also reported that additional rezoning needed to happen before construction could begin.
A Timeline That Keeps Slipping
Early optimism about a fast turnaround has not held up. Back in March 2024, McCamy hoped to start construction that summer and open ShotClub in late 2025 or early 2026. A month later, project organizers told Inside of Knoxville they hoped to begin construction that fall — a target, not a confirmed start date.
By January 2025, Inside of Knoxville listed ShotClub Social among projects with no visible progress, noting that the earlier hope had been to break ground in fall 2024 and finish construction around the end of 2025 or early 2026. As of November 10, 2026, the March 19, 2024, tax-incentive vote was about two years and eight months earlier.
