PEORIA — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker led a golf outing in which everyone made the cut Tuesday at the Peoria Park District Golf Learning Center.
Pritzker helped Park District board members, state politicians, project contractors and others officially cut the ribbon on the $6.5 million project that was years in the making.
In the end, it put Peoria on the map with a year-round entertainment, recreation and dining destination at 7815 N. Radnor Road. It is expected to attract golfers, tourists and customers from around central Illinois.
“It’s another significant investment that will be a fixture in this community for many years to come,” Pritzker said.
Pritzker thanked a long list of contributors to the project, from Peoria Park District executive director Emily Cahill, to Park board president Robert Johnson, his fellow trustees, Peoria Mayor Rita Ali and state representatives Ryan Spain (R-73rd district) and Jehan Gordon-Booth (D-92nd district).
“As a U.S. Open mainstay, the home of the nation’s first 18-hole golf course, some of the most beautiful clubs in the world, golf has long been an essential part of Illinois’ identity,” Pritzker said. “Projects like this one are about a whole lot more than just golf. With these renovations we’re hoping to breathe new life into the future of the region, attracting new visitors and major new investments.
“The impact generated from it will flow back into this community, our children will benefit not just from the work we’ve done here, not just on the golf course, but also in making Peoria an even more attractive community to live in …”
The $6.5 million project was funded in part through $4.75 million in grants from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, with the balance funded by the Park District.
The idea came from Gordon-Booth and Spain, who saw a Top Golf facility in another city a few years ago and thought they could build something better for Peoria.
“We were actually on a junket, doing something different, I won’t give the details, but while we were doing what we were doing, we came to a place — and it was not as nice as this — and I said to Ryan, ‘We need one of these in Peoria,’ ” Gordon-Booth said. “He was like, ‘Yeah, we do.’
“(To Emily Cahill and the Peoria Park District) You took the vision and you made it real, this would not have happened without you … This isn’t just about golf. If you think about the name, it’s the Learning Center … it’s a word that matters. It suggests that every kid, every family, has an opportunity to come out here and they get a shot.
“They get a shot at trying out something they may not be that great at, like me, or they may find and identify there is a real passion and a path, something for them to lock into.”
The ceremony included remarks from Johnson, DCEO director Kristin Richards and Cahill as well.
Afterward, Mayor Ali sat inside the on-site restaurant, Fairways, enjoying lunch.
“It’s phenomenal, an opportunity not just for children, but for families to come together,” she said. “I think it’s gonna be a huge attraction, not just for Peoria but for the whole region. Leadership matters, commitment matters, and in this case we have both. We saw a vision. Communication happened between the elected officials and administrators of the park. And then that kind of sparked the fire. Then the opportunity came with those grants through DCEO.
“So the stars aligned, and I think it’s great that it happened right in Peoria.”
The complex features a two-level, state-of-the-art, technology-driven interactive driving range named The Bays.
There are indoor golf simulators and putting greens. The Range & Loop, a traditional driving range and short course, is present. And the southern-fare restaurant and bar, Fairways, completes the package.
“This facility reflects how the Peoria Park District continues to evolve alongside community needs by creating flexible, year-round spaces that bring people together, expand recreational opportunities and support quality of life experiences for central Illinois,” Cahill said.
Dave Eminian is the Journal Star senior writer and sports columnist, and covers Bradley men’s basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Pritzker, Peoria elected officials celebrate Golf Learning Center
Reporting by Dave Eminian, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
