REGIONAL VIEW central virginia


High-tech golf rivals tee off around Richmond by Don Harrison


I


n the world of high-tech driving ranges, Richmond is about to host a big chal- lenge match between Goliath and David.


The top dog is Dallas-


based Topgolf, a pioneer in the business, with 56 gaming facilities worldwide. It’s slated to open a $25.5 million, 48,000-square-foot complex in October near the Richmond- Henrico County line — its fourth location in Virginia. Meanwhile, in late


September, New York-based upstart Drive Shack opened a 65,000-square-foot golf facility just outside Short Pump in Goochland County, about a 15-minute drive from Topgolf ’s Richmond location. Drive Shack began operation last year with one location in Orlando, Florida.


That might just sound like


friendly competition, except that Drive Shack recently hired Topgolf ’s former CEO and chief financial officer, and its three forthcoming locations are all in cities with Topgolf ranges,


FOR THE RECORD


Henrico County-based Altria Group Inc. announced in late August that it’s discussing an all- stock “merger of equals” to reunite with Philip Morris International Inc., which Altria spun off into an inde- pendent company in 2008. A long- time Fortune 500 company listed among the S&P 500, Altria is the parent company of Richmond- based tobacco products manufac- turer Philip Morris USA, best known for its Marlboro cigarettes brand. Based in New York, Philip Morris International is also a Fortune 500 company and manufactures Marl- boro cigarettes and other tobacco products for sale outside the United States. (VirginiaBusiness.com)


Appomattox residents can expect to see improvements along Main,


Contributed photos


Golf-gaming rivals Topgolf and Drive Shack are competing head to head in the Richmond area with new multimillion- dollar entertainment complexes.


including Raleigh, North Caro- lina, and West Palm Beach, Florida. “Things are really coming


together,” says Michael Matley, Drive Shack Richmond’s general manager and a former operations manager for Topgolf. Over in Henrico, Topgolf ’s


three-story facility will have 72 climate-controlled driving platforms, a full bar, a restau- rant, private meeting spaces and interactive specialty games


Church and Court streets after the town was awarded $700,000 in state grant money for downtown revitalization. The grant was among more than $13.4 million in Community Development Block Grants announced in August to pay for projects designed to help build strong regional economies in Virginia. In Appomattox, the first priority is renovating downtown storefronts, while secondary proj- ects include adding streetlamps on Church and Main streets and creating a small parking lot at the corner of Church and Harrell streets. (The News & Advance)


Nearly 300 Virginia companies are ranked on the most recent list of the nation’s fastest-growing, privately held companies. Leading 295 Virginia firms on the 2019 Inc. 5000 ranking is Mechanics-


that go beyond the links. In August, the company hired more than 400 people as food servers, bartenders, kitchen staff, maintenance workers and administrative employees. Many will be full-time, hourly staff, Twigg says, except for 22 salaried managers. Drive Shack’s Goochland


facility, also three stories and built on 13 acres at an esti- mated cost of $20 million to $25 million, expects to employ


ville-based Connected Solutions Group. It is No. 8 overall, with a three-year revenue growth rate of 12,701%. Connected Solutions also is Inc.’s highest-ranked telecommunications company. Virginia ranks fifth among the states in terms of companies on the list. (VirginiaBusiness.com)


Dominion Energy claimed excess profits of $277.3 million in 2018, a return of 13.47%, topping the 9.2% approved by regulators for most of Dominion’s spending, according to a State Corporation Commission report. The figures, part of an annual SCC review of Dominion’s earnings for Virginia lawmakers, come as the state monitors the rollout of a conten- tious law passed in 2018 that reconfigured how the company handles overearnings. As part of


www.VirginiaBusiness.com


300 people in full-time and part-time positions, including servers, bartenders, line cooks and guest services employees. It will boast 300 video screens for viewing and gaming, a restaurant, a rooftop bar and 96 climate-controlled driving bays equipped with TrackMan technology — “a Doppler-radar system that tracks balls on the simulated courses,” Matley explains. “It should attract golf- ers and nongolfers.” Matley adds, “Here, golfers still get their full 18 holes but they don’t need to leave the comfort of their own bay, and they can drink and eat. When it’s too cold outside, they’ll want to come here because our bays are climate-controlled.” Can the region support


this much golf-tainment? “I believe so,” Twiggs says. “The Richmond region is growing so much that this could actually be a great opportunity for both of us. Speaking for Topgolf, I think people will have a really fun experience and want to come back again and again.”


the new law, the Richmond-based electric monopoly will be allowed to divert excess earnings into new capital investments that modernize the state’s electric grid and boost renewables, instead of refunding the money to ratepay- ers or reducing electricity rates. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)


Michael C. Hild, founder and CEO of now-defunct Chester- field County-based Live Well Financial, was arrested by federal officials in August and charged with five criminal counts in a $140 million bond fraud scheme. In a separate action, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed civil charges against Hild. Officials allege he fraudulently inflated the value of the company’s portfolio of com- plex reverse-mortgage bonds to


induce various securities dealers and at least one financial institu- tion into loaning more money to the fast-growing mortgage lender and servicer. In September, he pleaded not guilty in federal court in New York City, and the trial is set for October 2020. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)


PEOPLE


Paul D. Koonce, executive vice president and president of Richmond-based Dominion Energy, will retire on Feb. 1. after a 38-year career in the energy industry. Effective Dec. 1, Koonce will step down as head of the company’s generation operating segment to become executive vice president and strategic adviser. (Press release)


VIRGINIA BUSINESS | 13


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