PONTE VEDRA BEEACH, Fla. — The PGA Tour’s Global Headquarters is becoming a neighbor.
Thousands of golf enthusiasts will be driving past the Players Championship public parking lot on Country Road 210 this week, wondering what the new building is going to look like. The structure’s framework will be built adjacent to 1 PGA Tour Boulevard. LIV Golf is not the future home, as locals joke. It will instead house PGA Tour Studios, a building measuring 165,000 square feet, which is expected to be ready for occupancy in the first quarter 2025.
It will be a major upgrade for the Tour’s television broadcast arm. The Tour has been located at World Golf Village in St. Augustine since 1998, in a 35,000 square foot facility that was state of the art at the time.
Seven studios, eight control and voice-over rooms, four edit finishing rooms, and an audio post room will be featured in the new facility that was built in July. The facility will accommodate 150-200 employees, and includes more than 290 workstations and 29 offices. There are also 13 meeting spaces that can seat 30 to 200 people, as well as “huddle rooms” and 48 high-top seating. It also has outdoor seating, a cafe, and five pantries.
Aerial view of the PGA Tour’s Global Headquarters, and the new PGA Tour Studios. They will be opening in Ponte Vedra Beach in the early 2025. (Photo: Gilbane Building Company)
The Tour moved into its headquarters of 187,000 square feet in January 2021, during COVID-19’s height. The structure, estimated to have cost $65million, was built to replace 17 buildings and bring together the majority of the company’s almost 1,000 employees under one roof.
The Tour’s television arm, PGA Tour Entertainment, remained disconnected. It is located about a 35 minute drive from the Tour. The Tour announced last year that the World Golf Hall of Fame would move from the World Golf Village in the World Golf Village to Pinehurst (N.C.) at the end of 2023. This exodus continues with the TV unit set to pack up and move too.
PGA Tour studios vs. PGate
The Tour coordinates the onsite facilities as well as below-the-line personnel in accordance with the most recent agreement with its broadcast partners. This includes mobile units and announce towers. The Global HQ houses several Golf Channel staff. The Tour decided that PGA Tour Entertainment should be located just a few steps from the main office because it plays a greater role in the production and design of its television product. This vision will be realized in 2025.
