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New Topgolf Driving Range Hits A Hazard

By Rick Sallinger

THORNTON, Colo. (CBS4) - A lawsuit has at least temporarily delayed the construction of massive golf driving range in Thornton.

The facility is to be built by a company called Topgolf.

Its concept has turned the normally mundane task of practicing a golf swing into a party. It has bars, a restaurant and three levels of golf driving bays.

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(credit: CBS)

With some 30 Topgolfs in two countries the company has its eyes on Thornton.

But some homeowners near 136th Avenue and Washington Street want to company to take a mulligan and plant its targeted greens somewhere else.

Lotte Radoor is suing the city of Thornton over its zoning approval for the facility.

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(credit: CBS)

She told CBS4 "that it is going to be about 612 people, three stories tall, screaming and yelling and cheering from 9 o'clock in the morning until 2 o'clock in the morning every day of the year."

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Lotte Radoor talks with CBS4's Rick Sallinger (credit: CBS)

She says while the Topgolf in Centennial is near offices, the one proposed for her neighborhood is by homes.

"For me personally it is going to be detrimental because I have a child with a profound disabilities to sensory issues with light and sound."

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(credit: CBS)

For its part, Topgolf is holding off on it's groundbreaking waiting to see how a judge rules on the lawsuit.

The city of Thornton, which is the defendant in the lawsuit, would not comment because it is pending litigation.

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(credit: CBS)

The company issued a statement:

Topgolf is still actively pursuing a second location in the greater Denver area. We are committed to working with local officials and the community to determine the best path forward for our Colorado expansion.

CBS4's Rick Sallinger is a Peabody award winning reporter who has been with the station more than two decades doing hard news and investigative reporting. Follow him on Twitter @ricksallinger.

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