Indoor Disc Golf?

[jtencer]

I know they turned an old one in Shreveport into a church a few years back. Think about shooting from the bottom floor to the top or vice versa.

 

[Aim For The Chains]

This is something we also have pondered being in MN with longer winters than summer it seems like... Just hard with the prices of commercial real estate and initial investment would be huge compared to a course in a park or even private land, specially within a location which would benefit from the local traffic etc and not be too far off the beaten path where development prices would be less but so would your overall market with fewer target consumers/users. Love the idea just not sure how viable it is, specially at this point in the games growth and what else would be needed on-site in order to generate positive cash flow.

Few Questions for some feedback:
How much would you pay for an indoor course?
Could it be like a "Mini-Golf" course where you mostly work on approaches/putts?
What do you expect from the concept?
Would you go there when it is nice out?

 

[Chain Wrangler]

It would also be awesome to have a indoor glow park for night time. Just an idea.

 

[scarpfish]

Honestly, even a concept like this were even in the ballpark of being financially viable, it would be branded a niche course, and I don't think it would have a lot of repeat customers. A course owner would have to deal with a lot more things indoors than he would outdoors...

- Utilities (electricity, restrooms, climate control)
- more complicated, and hereby costlier liability insurance issues if someone gets hurt
- fire safety issues

...and probably a whole plethora of things I'm not thinking of at the moment.

 

[maansmit]

You just need to a find a wealthy DG enthusiast who is willing to consistently lose money in order for an indoor course to work.

 

[DanJon]

i almost compare this idea to indoor skateparks. a friend of mine owned & operated undercover skatepark just outside appleton, wi. before he started it everyone said they would love to go and support it.

at first it went well but after awhile the large groups of people didnt show up anymore. and thats with skaters, bmxer's and rollerbladers. they definitely went there in the winter but the other 3/4 of the year everyone wants to ride outside.

his overhead was HUGE. and thats with a smaller building. the building you would need to keep people entertained and make them want to come back would have to be insane. especially if you wanted to add obstacles and have the option to change things up.

a place like this would have to draw people during the extreme portions of the seasons. therefore it would need to be heated or cooled. at least somewhat.

it might work if things were scaled down. a liquor license would help. as would licensing and permits for food service. maybe a pro shop. mini golf courses arent exactly big money makers but some do survive.

either way its a huge risk and a huge investment for someone to take on. a one off thing in an old warehouse for a tournament would be frickin epic though.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

Honestly, even a concept like this were even in the ballpark of being financially viable, it would be branded a niche course, and I don't think it would have a lot of repeat customers. A course owner would have to deal with a lot more things indoors than he would outdoors...

- Utilities (electricity, restrooms, climate control)
- more complicated, and hereby costlier liability insurance issues if someone gets hurt
- fire safety issues

...and probably a whole plethora of things I'm not thinking of at the moment.

Probably correct, but this thread has me thinking about closed down auto factories. Ford's old assembly plant in Wixom, MI... (screen fades to hazy dream sequence as he pictures the scene).

Plenty of room, hell you could even throw thumbers and tommies in there, maybe even spike hyzers!

Enough room for using distance drivers.

Left over puddles of hazardous chemicals could be water ... just make sure your review mentions "penalty for landing in the hazards is a bit harsh."


And perhaps best of all, it's only 1 mile from the Discraft factory.
Open Invitation to Mr. Kenner: let's get together and figure out what we gotta do to make this happen. :hfive:

But alas, ain't never gonaa happen. Like previous post said: dead for 1/2 the year.

 

[Steve West]

I think it would work as an event. It only costs a few hundred dollars to rent the Metrodome for a day.

 

[nickc]

I don't think the courses would be dead during the warmer months. It's not always legal to go disc golfing at night time. They could host Midnight-Frolfing, with black lights and glow discs. Also, when it rains, you would have a place to play disc golf. Maybe it's way too hot out, and now you have a cooler location to play at.

Niche course or not, there would definitely be some incentive to return to the course. I'm sure you could buy day/month/year passes, thus increasing the incentive to go, granted the longer passes were priced reasonably. Hosting tournaments/events would probably make people want to go check it out.

I think it would also need a pro-shop inside, where you can buy new and used discs, accessories, t-shirts, whatever. There would need to be another possible way for the owner to make money.

We have indoor ski hills, I think we can have an indoor disc golf course somewhere.

 

[dagwood112]

but this thread has me thinking about closed down auto factories. Ford's old assembly plant in Wixom, MI...

The one visible from 96? I've had the same thought while passing it on the way to Kensington. Obviously cost prohibitive at that location.

What about all of the abandoned warehouse and factory space within Detroit city limits? Perhaps not feasible as a permanent, revenue-generating course, but it would be a cool guerilla project.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

The one visible from 96? I've had the same thought while passing it on the way to Kensington. Obviously cost prohibitive at that location.

That's the one.

What about all of the abandoned warehouse and factory space within Detroit city limits? Perhaps not feasible as a permanent, revenue-generating course, but it would be a cool guerilla project.

Just asking: If it were your money that paid for the baskets, how would you feel about leaving leave a few grand worth of hardware in what used to be an abandoned building in Detroit?

 

[DirtyMittenDG]

....an old school mall would make an incredible indoor course. Anyone have a shut-down one near them?

Summit Place Mall

It used to be the spot back in the day. Would make for a GREAT course if utilized correctly. And it's in the heart of a population center, as well as in a DG dead zone area.

 

[DirtyMittenDG]

**pipe dreams getting to overwhelming, so intense, nooooooooo.....**

 

[B3NDER]

I'd love to turn Center Point mall over here off of the beltline and 28th into an indoor course. There is way more than enough room in that P.O.S.

 

[dandaman]

I think an indoor course would probably only work if there were other "family friendly" activities offered. Mini-golf, bowling, laser tag, go carts, arcade etc. Packaged all together you might draw enough to make an indoor dg facility work, but a stand alone seems unfeasible.

 

[tdschrock1]

It sounds like alot of fun - it seems like the consensus is that an indoor event would be great, but a maintained course would be very difficult to support financially

 

[Paulie]

I'd play it. At least once.

They could have a night game, or black out the windows, and have only strobe lights. And dude! How cool would some discs look under black light?

 

[SmoothSailor]

Why not just rent out the mall of America and have a tourney? I know its not permanent, but it'd be fun

 

[dagwood112]

Just asking: If it were your money that paid for the baskets, how would you feel about leaving leave a few grand worth of hardware in what used to be an abandoned building in Detroit?

I'd prefer not to leave several thousand dollars worth of metal unattended within Detroit city limits.

If the idea was to create a permanent indoor course, baskets would probably have to be homemade with materials that aren't worth stealing. There was a guy with a private course on here not that long ago who was making his baskets out of tires. They looked pretty sweet.

An event-based model could work with portables.

 

[smyith]

I'd prefer not to leave several thousand dollars worth of metal unattended within Detroit city limits.

how is this different from the baskets being on an outdoor course? if anything i would imagine it be easier to steal something that is already outside rather than something inside.

**WARNING I AM A TROLL AND YOU SHOULD IGNORE THIS**