Entertainment Complex Featuring Topgolf and Main Event Slated for Waco

NewQuest Properties and Main Event Entertainment have officially closed on the sale of a 5.03-acre tract in Cottonwood Creek Market in Waco, Texas, creating an alignment for a trio of national entertainment brands. Main Event, a bowling brand, will break ground this month on a 48,559-square-foot project, signaling the end of a yearlong pandemic-related limbo for its company and industry peers. The first-time alignment includes Topgolf Entertainment Group and Cinemark Holdings Inc., both of which are in final construction stages. The NewQuest development will be the largest entertainment and dining district situated between north Austin and south Fort Worth along Interstate 35. The 143-acre Cottonwood Creek Market, totaling 285,000 square feet at build-out, is underway at the junction of I-35 and Loop 340/TX 6 in southwest Waco near Baylor University’s 1,000-acre campus. Baldridge represented NewQuest in the transaction. Dawn Greiner of SRS Real Estate Partners handled negotiations for Main Event. The first leisure space to come online will be Topgolf, which opens in the spring. The 14-screen Cinemark is slated for a summer opening and Main Event will debut in Q1 2022. The trio of Texas-based national brands will be visible from the interstate. Main Event will feature 20 state-of-the-art bowling lanes, multi-level laser tag arenas, virtual reality gaming space, a restaurant with a chef-inspired menu and bar with hand-crafted original drinks. Topgolf’s Waco facility will be a backyard-style single-story complex, an open-plan design with 30 climate-controlled hitting bays featuring Toptracer ball-tracing technology, life-sized Jenga and other yard games plus gathering spaces with fire pits and picnic-style dining areas. Cinemark’s 14-screen theater will boast wall-to-wall screens, enhanced sound systems and two XD auditoriums. Perks include luxury loungers, reserved seating and expanded beverage and food options. Baldridge presently is in discussions with a multifamily developer and several restaurant groups for spots in NewQuest’s mixed-use assemblage. Site availability is a mix of ground leases with interstate frontage, multitenant retail leases and for-sale acreage with high visibility and easy access.