Valley Children's breaks ground on Topgolf to offset hundreds of millions in anticipated federal, state cuts — Photo: Team New Orleans, US Army Corps of Engineers — Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Valley Children’s breaks ground on Topgolf to offset hundreds of millions in anticipated federal, state cuts
Valley Children’s Healthcare opened construction Tuesday on a 72-bay Topgolf facility in Madera County — the first tenant in a commercial development the nonprofit hospital says it needs to replace what CEO Todd Suntrapak described as “hundreds of millions of dollars” in anticipated revenue losses over the next five years.
Suntrapak said the hospital is losing funding from both federal and state sources, forcing the organization to find alternative revenue. “How do we replace what we anticipated to be losses in revenue in a different way? Because we knew that kids are always going to count on us,” Suntrapak said at the groundbreaking.
The Topgolf facility — the company’s first Central Valley location — will include climate-controlled bays, a restaurant and bar, an arcade, a patio, and a mini golf course. Valley Children’s says profits from the facility will fund pediatric healthcare programs. The development is slated to open summer 2027.
Topgolf President and COO Erin Chamberlin said the company plans to hire locally through “really big hiring events” working with community groups. Madera County officials estimate the project will create 250 to 300 jobs.
Madera County District 1 Supervisor Jordan Wamhoff framed the project as a way to keep resident spending in the county: “We want people who live here to spend their tax dollars here. Spend their tax dollars where they live, where they own a home, where they send their kids to school.”
The Breakdown
- Valley Children’s Healthcare is building a commercial mixed-use development on hospital property, with Topgolf as the first major tenant
- The 72-bay Topgolf facility will include a restaurant, bar, arcade, patio, and mini golf course, opening summer 2027
- Valley Children’s CEO Todd Suntrapak says the hospital anticipates “hundreds of millions of dollars” in cuts from federal and state funding over five years
- The development is described as a revenue replacement strategy — profits from Topgolf and future tenants are intended to fund pediatric healthcare programs
- Madera County estimates 250 to 300 local jobs from the project
What This Means for You
When the hospital’s CEO says the organization faces “hundreds of millions” in federal and state funding cuts, that signals anticipated changes in government healthcare spending. The hospital’s decision to pursue commercial real estate development is its response to those anticipated cuts.
The stakes are whether this revenue replacement actually works. If it doesn’t generate what Suntrapak projects, the cuts he’s anticipating still happen — and pediatric care capacity in the region takes the hit.
What to Watch
Valley Children’s is asking you to trust that a Topgolf in Madera County will generate enough profit to replace “hundreds of millions of dollars” in lost federal and state healthcare funding over five years. The material provides no breakdown of how much revenue the hospital expects Topgolf and future tenants to generate, no financial model showing the gap this development is supposed to fill, and no detail on what gets cut if the commercial strategy underperforms.
What would confirm or rule this out: the hospital’s own financial projections for the development, including expected annual revenue from Topgolf and future tenants, and a line-item accounting of what “hundreds of millions” in cuts actually means — which programs, which services, how many beds or staff positions. Valley Children’s leadership is in a position to produce that, and voters evaluating this strategy deserve to see it before the groundbreaking photo-op.
The material also leaves unanswered who profits directly from this arrangement beyond the hospital itself. The material states the hospital will receive profits from the facility, but does not state the revenue-sharing structure, the lease terms, or what Topgolf itself stands to gain from the deal. A contract or term sheet would show that.
Finally, Madera County Supervisor Wamhoff’s comment — “we want people who live here to spend their tax dollars here” — frames this as a county revenue play, not only a hospital funding strategy. The material does not state whether any revenue-sharing arrangement exists between the county and the hospital. A budget line or economic impact study would clarify what terms the county negotiated to land this development.
