You won’t see evidence of the PGA Tour’s new headquarters complex if you’re attending The Players Championship golf tournament this week.
However, it won’t be long before the 187,000-square-foot building starts taking shape along County Road 210 near TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach.
Speaking after a media event to showcase The First Tee Experience family pavilion at the golf tournament, Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said Monday he hopes groundbreaking for the headquarters will take place in late June or July.
The organization that operates professional golf tournaments around the world announced plans for the new building in January, and Monahan said it has been finalizing details since then.
“We’re on track,” he said.
The PGA Tour has more than 800 employees working out of 17 buildings in and around TPC Sawgrass, and officials say consolidating everyone into one building will improve operations.
“I think there’s been such a great response that we’ve had from our employees and the community,” Monahan said.
Last year, St. Johns County Commissioners approved $2.8 million in incentives for the $81 million project. The PGA Tour promised to create 307 more jobs in exchange for the incentives.
Monahan said Monday the hiring of those additional jobs has already begun and will be a “steady and seamless process” as it begins construction of the headquarters.
“We’ve added new employees since we made the announcement,” he said.
Monahan was speaking inside the 5,000-square-foot First Tee pavilion, a new feature of The Players that will allow families to escape the heat in air-conditioned comfort and provide interactive golf games for the kids.
The First Tee, headquartered at the World Golf Village in St. Augustine, is a nonprofit organization which promotes golf to children in partnership with the PGA Tour, the LPGA and other golf organizations.
First Tee CEO Keith Dawkins said he hopes the pavilion can help introduce the sport to youngsters attending the tournament.
“Go where the fans are. That’s why we’re here at The Players Championship,” he said.
Dawkins joined First Tee in October after serving as executive vice president of children’s television network Nickelodeon.
Dawkins is still commuting to St. Augustine from New York, so as not to disrupt his children’s schooling.
He said it makes sense to have First Tee’s headquarters office near the PGA Tour’s office, but it could be moved in the future.
“We need to rethink and modernize the way our organization works,” he said.
First Tee says it reaches 5 million kids annually as it works with golf tournaments all over the country.
“There’s a talent base that’s all over the U.S.,” Dawkins said.
The Players Championship is Thursday through Sunday, with practice rounds Tuesday and Wednesday.
Monahan said all of the top PGA Tour players are scheduled to compete, making it the deepest field in golf.
“You can’t get any deeper,” he said.
“There’s no one who’s not here.”