Preparations for Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s tech-infused golf league the TGL have been dealt a setback with the news that the custom-built arena that will host the made-for-TV contest has been damaged due to a power failure.
The air supported arena in Florida sustained tears on Tuesday evening due to the failure of the temporary power system, leading to the dome needing be deflated.
The league is being launched by Woods and McIlroy's TMRW Sports. Per Bob Harig at Sports Illustrated, a statement from the the company detailed what had caused the issue to the dome, which is located at the campus of Palm Beach State College in Palm Beach Gardens.
The roof of the TGL’s SoFi Center has collapsed overnight leading to significant disruption to the construction of the arena.A source says no-one was hurt, but the start of the TGL is likely to be delayed. Thanks to @luckiestgolfer for the pic. pic.twitter.com/p1120I6OSyNovember 15, 2023
It read: "An overnight failure to the temporary power system used during the construction phase caused partial deflation and limited damage to the air-supported dome section of the site. The dome section has been further deflated by our crew and will remain down while they work to remedy the situation. There were no injuries, and no technology was impacted. Other work on site will continue."
The dome, which will be used until the TGL's Sofi Center is completed, is around 250,000 square feet and 75 feet high. Meanwhile, the TGL stadium will feature real grass and a simulator screen 20x bigger than normal simulators, while it will also have a capacity for around 2,000 spectators.
Initially, it was thought the damage wouldn't impact the start date for the TGL, which is due to begin on Tuesday 9 January with coverage on ESPN and ESPN+. However, an update on X from Sports Business Journal's Josh Carpenter appears to cast doubt on those hopes. He wrote: "Update from the @TGL. They now say it is "too early to determine the impact on our timelines" as they assess the damage."
Update from the @TGL. They now say it is "too early to determine the impact on our timelines" as they assess the damage. https://t.co/PGh7CJidP1November 15, 2023
The damage to the dome is not the first setback the TGL has faced during its preparations. One of its initial 24 players, Jon Rahm, has pulled out of its inaugural season, and, before this week’s DP World Tour Championship, he explained that the reason for it was because it was “more of a commitment than I expected at first.”
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