Reno’s Grand Sierra Spending Nearly $15 Million to Overhaul Aqua Golf Range
Posted on: February 24, 2026, 09:23h.
Last updated on: February 24, 2026, 09:23h.
- Grand Sierra Resort has proposed investing $14.7 million to redevelop its golf driving range
- Grand Sierra is amid a two-stage expansion that is projected to cost approximately $1 billion
The Grand Sierra Resort wants to become the go-to destination for gaming and sports in the “Biggest Little City in the World.” It’s also betting big on luring golfers on Reno golf trips to stay and play at the property owned and operated by the Meruelo Group.
Billionaire Alex Meruelo continues to go all-in on the Grand Sierra. Last fall, the business magnate, whose portfolio includes the Sahara on the Las Vegas Strip, broke ground on a $1 billion expansion of the Reno destination.
Assisted by more than $60 million in local tax credits, Meruelo is building the Reno Arena at the resort, a $435 million sports venue and community ice rink that will become the home of the Nevada Wolf Pack men’s basketball team. The 10,000-seat facility is also being designed to attract major events, from concerts to NCAA March Madness.
With the arena construction progressing, Meruelo recently filed plans to begin overhauling the property’s “aqua driving range” where golfers hit at floating island greens.
$15 Million Golf Range
The Grand Sierra Resort is seeking a construction permit to transform its dingy Grand Bay Driving Range into a facility resembling a Topgolf. The Grand Bay Driving Range currently has 38 hitting bays and eight island greens on a body of water located south of the resort’s outdoor pool complex.
Grand Sierra plans to invest $14.7 million to construct a three-story, 90-bay driving range structure equipped with food and beverage facilities. The project is being called “Splash Golf.”
“You’re familiar with Topgolf, but this is going to be hitting into water. We had to search pretty far for a company that had the technology to track balls over water, and we found one,” Shannon Keel, general manager of the Grand Sierra Resort, said during the ceremonial groundbreaking of the Reno Arena on Sept. 30.
Who doesn’t like hitting balls into water? Unless you’re on a golf course, of course,” Keel joked.
Reno is not home to an outdoor Topgolf facility, but Caesars Entertainment’s Silver Legacy offers indoor Topgolf Swing Suite simulators.
Grand Expansion
Following the $435 million Reno Arena and $14.7 million Splash Golf projects, Meruelo plans to embark on a more than half-billion-dollar investment to build a new hotel tower at the Grand Sierra. Along with an unspecified number of hotel rooms, the subsequent expansion phase is to include additional retail space and affordable workforce housing.
When Meruelo announced his $1 billion plan to transform the Grand Sierra Resort in September 2023, the plan was marked as the largest private capital investment in the city’s history.
Meruelo isn’t the only one bullish on Reno. Jacobs Entertainment continues to invest heavily in its J Resort (formerly Sands Regency) and the development of the so-called Neon Line.
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