GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) – The first of its kind, Arnold Palmer’s CenterCup is under construction in Gainesville. On Friday, developers celebrated their “first hit” at the construction site.

CenterCup, a restaurant and mini-golf experience, will open in summer 2025 at Butler North on Plaza Boulevard at Southwest 30th Place, behind Newk’s Eatery and Culver’s restaurant.

Marc Brown, president of 23 Restaurant Services, chose Gainesville as the concept’s first location because he attended the University of Florida and saw the large golf community in the city.

“We opened our Ford’s Garage restaurant here two years ago and have had great success with it,” Brown said. “So when we had the opportunity to create CenterCup, it was a great fit for us. There’s a great golf school here. People in Gainesville are avid golfers. We knew this was the right community to launch this brand.”

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It will include a 27-hole mini golf, golf simulators, shuffleboards, billboards and the official Arnold Palmer Pro Shop. It will feature an 11,000-square-foot restaurant and 19,000 square feet of indoor entertainment space.

“Today’s consumer is looking for more than just a dining experience when they go out… They want to be able to go out and eat and drink and also do an activity they do, so this was a natural fit.” Brown continued.

Arnold Palmer was a legendary professional golfer nicknamed “The King.” The classic drink combination of iced tea and lemonade is named after him.

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