New sport entertainment facility coming to town
New sport entertainment facility coming to town
JAKARTA (JP): Jakartans desperately in search of a family
recreation place are about to receive a new sports entertainment
arena at Carita Beach, West Java, about 160 kilometers west of
Jakarta.
Putt-Putt Golf and Games, one of the largest entertainment
franchises in the United States, signed an agreement yesterday
with Lippo Carita Resort to build the facility.
The franchise rights for Indonesia has been acquired by the
Ponderosa group, which also owns the franchise rights for
Ponderosa, Pizza Hut and Red Lobster.
The new site will have an 18-hole miniature golf course, which
will be expanded to 72 holes in the future. Unlike other golf
courses with driving ranges, Putt-Putt Golf and Games will only
provide putting greens.
It will also have a bumper boat arena, a go-kart race circuit,
a video games arena and a toy area for kids.
Putt-Putt Golf and Games is being built initially with a total
investment of US$200,000, though it plans to increase its
investment to US$1.5 million and expand from 3,000 square meters
to 1.5 hectares.
"Ponderosa also talked to 58 mayors from Java, Sumatra,
Kalimantan and South Sulawesi to build the same recreation sites
in those cities," Ronald Mullers, General Manager of the
Ponderosa Group, told reporters.
Jakarta will have similar sites at Senayan Square and Dukuh
Golf Kemayoran. The Ponderosa Group also plans to build one in
Puncak, West Java.
In three years, Putt-Putt Golf and Games plans to open 20
outlets in Java island.
"But we plan to open 100 outlets here in the near future,"
Mullers said.
General Manager of Putt-Putt Asia Chad Greer, world champion
in the Putt-Putt golf championships in 1992, said that the Asian
branch will concentrate first on developing its sites in Jakarta.
Putt-Putt Golf and Games has set up a temporary site at the
Jakarta Fair, which is being sponsored by Coca Cola and is free
to the public.
"People will only have to pay every time they play the games,"
Mullers said.
"It's a very cheap entertainment site for families. It is not
only for children but also for adults," he added. (yan)