LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) – The idea for a driving range that doubles as an entertainment complex is upsetting neighbors.
Neighbors in Hurstbourne and Oxmoor Woods are worried about noise, bright lights, and the extra traffic, and they're making their voices heard.
It seems tonight the developers may be listening and making changes.
“There are 143 pages of emails that have been sent into the planning commission,” Steve Porter said. “I’ve read through all of them, but I haven’t found one that was in favor of Topgolf at this location.”
“Topgolf has vetted many sites in the Louisville market,” Oxmoor Center GM Kendall Merrick said. “It was just the perfect marriage if you will.”
Signs are popping up all over the Hurstbourne pitting members of this community against the place they do their commerce.
“Topgolf is a nightclub really,” Porter said. “It will have 500 or 600 people, serving them alcohol and food, and hitting golf balls. It’s just too close. The lights from the stadium, which are stadium lights like a football field, are up 4 or 5 stories high. They will be shining until 2 o’clock in the morning on the weekends.”
“There are no lights at the top of the net posts,” Merrick said. “Common misperception.”
Oxmoor Center General Manager Kendall Merrick says Topgolf executives have already heard complaints about their original plan, which is why they are taking steps to modify it.
“Topgolf has made changes in the lighting plan,” Merrick said. “It will be the first of its kind. What Topgolf will be doing is installing LED lights instead of the old halogen style lights. Those lights will face downward as opposed to outward.”
“All of the people who are hitting golf balls, drinking, and eating are outdoors,” Porter said. “They’re undercover, but they’re doing it outdoors. There will be live bands on top of this three-story building. It’s a party. It’s a great party in the right place. This is the wrong place for it, that’s all.”
“This really is designed exactly for a development like Topgolf,” Merrick said.
There’s a rally against this Topgolf proposal Wednesday night at 6 p.m. at the corner of Lyndon Lane and Oxmoor Woods Parkway.
If you’d like to get a look at those revised plans you can go to topgolflouisville.com.
►Contact reporter Holden Kurwicki at hkurwicki@whas11.com. Follow him on Twitter (@WHAS11Holden) and Facebook.