Project leaders hope to score a hole-in-one with the planned development of a new sports entertainment facility on Dubuque’s Chaplain Schmitt Island.

Company officials on Tuesday announced plans to construct a PinSeekers golf complex on the former Q Casino greyhound race track pending approval from the Dubuque City Council and Iowa Racing & Gaming Commission.

The three-story, 30,000-square-foot building will include a 220-yard driving range, an indoor mini-golf course, a bar and restaurant and a meeting room with capacity for up to 150 people.

PinSeekers Managing Partner Ryan Ranguette said the complex will be similar to the two other PinSeekers locations in Tiffin, Iowa, and DeForest, Wis., but with its own Dubuque flair.

“We have our brand standards, but my goal is really to design the space to fit how the Q Casino already looks and feels,” Ranguette said. “I want it to fit into (Chaplain Schmitt Island) and not be a cookie-cutter complex.”

Board members of the DRA — the nonprofit license holder for Dubuque’s casinos — approved the sublease of the former race track to PinSeekers at Tuesday’s monthly meeting, clearing the way for the project to head to the City Council to consider a development agreement.

Pending those discussions, Ranguette said the goal is to open the Dubuque location in the spring of 2026. Exact cost estimates for the facility were not yet available, though projections top out around $18 million.

“We’ve set some tight timelines here, but we’ve got a great team on both sides that I think are driving this engine forward,” Ranguette said.

Alex Dixon, president and CEO of Q Casino + Resort and DRA, said the PinSeekers facility will complement other ongoing improvements to Chaplain Schmitt Island such as an outdoor amphitheater set to open in summer of 2026.

The amphitheater will be constructed immediately adjacent to the PinSeekers site, Dixon said, meaning the two amenities will be within walking distance of one another and the newly remodeled Q Casino facility.

“Sometimes, I think the term game changer is overly used, but in this case I don’t think it is,” Dixon said of the development. “… This is really the materialization and amplification of what can happen when people are willing to invest into (local) development.”

Once completed, the PinSeekers facility will include 40 all-season golf suites with access to the 220-yard driving range. The range will be surrounded by 160-foot tall nets to ensure all of the golf balls stay safely within the range.

Once a player hits the ball, Toptracer technology records the speed and trajectory to determine its landing spot.

Players then can see that data on a screen in their golf bay and use the information to improve their swing.

“The neat part is that it can actually give you a nice theatrical or interactive experience,” Ranguette said. “We have these huge targets out there, 50 or 60 feet in diameter, and they actually light up when a golfer hits those targets.”

The all-ages facility also will include an 18-hole indoor putting range where players can enjoy a game of mini golf, and there will be Full Swing Pro Series golf simulators featuring more than 30 courses and 13 other interactive game experiences.

Visitors can get a bite to eat at the PinSeekers bar and restaurant or visit the rooftop patio adjacent to the flexible event space overlooking the nearby Mississippi River.

Dubuque Mayor Brad Cavanagh said he looks forward to reviewing PinSeekers’ proposal at an upcoming council meeting, as the sublease and any development agreement would have to be approved by the city.

While Cavanagh couldn’t comment on the PinSeekers’ project directly, he said any outside entrepreneurial interest in Dubuque is a positive sign.

“Discussions like this really signify the momentum that we have as a community, and I’m really excited to see people grab onto that and start running,” he said.