A rendering of the TGL facility. | TGL
The debut of the new golf league will have to wait until 2025, thanks to a construction malfunction that damaged the facility.
The TGL will not debut in 2024 after all.
Last week, the SoFi Center in Florida, the new arena set to host TGL matches, experienced severe damage after several construction malfunctions.
But with less than two months before its scheduled debut, the league has decided to postpone its launch until 2025, according to Josh Carpenter of Sports Business Journal. An official announcement from the league is expected later Monday.
The @TGL is expected to announce later today that it will not launch until 2025 due to the damage caused at its venue in Florida.
Postponing only a short time would impact ESPN’s TV windows, as well as player schedules.
Launch expected to be a similar timeframe in 2025 pic.twitter.com/vP3kIxYGhV
— Josh Carpenter (@JoshACarpenter) November 20, 2023
TGL, founded in part by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, will be an indoor golf league in front of a live audience in South Florida. Players will hit into 65-foot screens off authentic turf while competing in a ‘modern match-play’ format.
Twenty-four players divided among six teams have committed to the league. Franchises based out of Los Angeles, Boston, New York, Atlanta, San Francisco, and Jupiter have all been established.
Opening night was scheduled for Jan. 9 on ESPN, one night after college football’s national championship. Yet, the network must wait to broadcast TGL events until 2025.
“We are partners with TGL and fully support their decision,” said Rosalyn Durant, the Executive Vice President of Programming and Acquisitions at ESPN, in a statement.
“We have believed in them and their vision from the beginning, and that has not changed. The additional time to plan, test, and rehearse will only make it better. We look forward to launching the inaugural season on ESPN.”
ESPN and TGL decided to postpone one whole year because all involved did not want the players to amend their schedules during major championship season. TGL was set to conclude in April, right before The Masters kicks off at Augusta National.
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/p1120I6OSy
— Flushing It (@flushingitgolf) November 15, 2023
Consequently, the SoFi Arena’s collapse allows TGL ample time to kick off its inaugural season in 2025.
“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,” TMRW Sports, the parent company that owns TGL, said in a statement last week following the collapse.
“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.”
Thankfully, nobody was hurt, but golf fans eager for TGL matches must wait to see golf’s latest new venture.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
